Tony Zerucha

Dance, dance, dance

A Westwood-based dance instructor can continue teaching dance to children with special needs, thanks to a $20,000 grant from Desjardins Group.

Owner Amanda Nuttall said Groundwork Dance Studio was one of 10 Canadian arts and cultural organizations to receive the GoodSpark Grant from Desjardins, a national financial services co-operative.

The funds will allow her to study and gain skills that will enable her to interact with students, including American Sign Language. She will also be able to build a team so every child who wants to dance has the opportunity.

“It was pretty shocking, actually,” Nuttall said. “We’re very grateful. We felt very special to be chosen for it because we feel strongly about what we’re doing.”

Where hockey culture is building community

While the games are what attracts teams and fans, the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships are also a celebration of Indigenous culture and the sport’s growing role in communities across Canada.

Marking its 20th anniversary in 2023, this year’s NAHC tournament is being held in Winnipeg at the Seven Oaks Sportsplex (745 Kingsbury Ave.), from May 7-13. Fifteen teams, eight male and seven female, are taking part, said Mel Whitesell, executive director of the Manitoba Sports & Recreation Council. It’s the first time the event has been held in Manitoba since 2009.

Things have changed since then, Whitesell said. The hockey, while already of a high calibre, keeps getting better. Most athletes play at the U18 AAA, prep school and junior levels and some have graduated to the professional and international ranks over the years.

NAHC alums to make the jump include national women’s team members Jocelyne Larocque, Brigette Lacquette and Jamie Rattray, current NHLers Ethan Bear, Zach Whitecloud and Brandon Montour, and former NHL players Jordin Tootoo, Micheal Ferland and Brady Keeper. Ted Nolan, a former Jack Adams coach-of-the-year in the NHL, coached Team Ontario in 2016.

Local artists set to show and sell

Visitors to the Norman Art Group’s upcoming spring show and sale will be treated to an outstanding selection of paintings from 24 different artists, according to Marion Timlick, the group’s co-treasurer.

The event will be held at the Church of St. Stephen and St. Bede (99 Turner Ave.) on May 12 from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. and May 13 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Timlick loves the Norman Art Group so much that she’s been attending the weekly gatherings for 24 years. While artistic talent runs in her family, she began spending even more time painting when she retired. She was introduced to the group by a former member, and she’s been coming ever since.

“We’re a very easygoing group,” Timlick said.

Preserving Tiger Pride

St. John’s High School has been a North End institution for more than a century, and a group of alumni is working hard to preserve the school’s history so its unique place in many hearts will never be forgotten.

Formed in preparation for the school’s 2011 centenary, the St. John’s High Alumni Association has spent the past decade cataloguing artifacts and updating lists. The dedicated group includes alumnus, teacher and principal Brian Burdy, alumna Carole Kurdydyk and former teacher Sue Gibb.

Like many alums, multiple generations of Kurdydyk’s family attended St. John’s. When it was her turn, she knew its importance to her family. Now that she’s preserving the school’s history, the memories are flooding back.

“To go back to researching and seeing pictures and comments is a ‘wow’ moment,” Kurdydyk admitted. “My father was always proud that he went to ‘Tech’. He always instilled in us the pride of school and community.”

No Child Alone dinner celebrates good works

The No Child Alone Dinner on April 27 at the RBC Convention Centre is more than a fundraising evening; it’s a celebration of the great work Rossbrook House does for Winnipeg’s children year-round.

Executive director Patty Mainville said this year’s event is only the third dinner Rossbrook House has held. The first marked the organization’s 40th anniversary in 2016, and a second one was held in 2019.

The upcoming evening will feature keynote speaker Kevin Chief, a former MLA and Indigenous business leader, as well as a performance by Sierra Noble, who will be accompanied for one song by music students from Rossbrook House’s off-campus school Wi Wabigooni. The hosts will be Rossbrook House board member Colleen Simard, herself a former Rossbrook House member, and current member Dale Turcotte.

Rossbrook House is a non-profit, youth drop-in centre that is open 365 days of the year, Mainville said. Serving Winnipeg’s Centennial neighbourhood and beyond since 1976, it offers programming, daily meals, employment training and more to Winnipeggers between the ages of six and 24. In partnership with the Winnipeg School Division, it runs three off-campus schools, one each for elementary, junior and senior high.

Keep your homes, business safe

I recently attended a crime prevention seminar where police and security companies shared tips on keeping your businesses safe. Many of their suggestions apply to homes. too.

Start with a little common sense. Keep your doors locked, speaker after speaker told the audience. One presenter occasionally conducts unannounced security audits where he sees how far he can get into a business while it is open without staff noticing.

Sometimes it’s pretty far. He walks in the service door, nods at people and gets into storage areas, offices and customer cars. His company has seen a case in which thieves lowered a hoist and drove a brand new car right off the lot without anyone noticing.

Keep your place in good repair. Fix holes in fences, keep gates in working order and change your smoke detectors every three years. They can become plugged with dust and other particulates.

Music to any music lover’s ears

After a three-year, pandemic-induced hiatus, the Manitoba Music Lover’s Festival is back with a roster of performers guaranteed to please everyone.

Where every gamer knows your name…

For 20 years, GameKnight Games has been Winnipeg’s go-to place for tabletop, role-playing and fantasy games. Located at 519 Osborne St., GameKnight Games also offers a wide selection of puzzles, novels, miniatures and hobby supplies.

Our future will be secure

Students at two Winnipeg schools are among Canada’s brightest young cybersecurity minds, and they have the awards to prove it.

Rotary Club’s ChickenFest helps send kids to camp

When you support the Rotary Club of Winnipeg West’s 72nd annual ChickenFest Fundraiser, you get a tasty meal and help send children to camp.

Play ball… hockey!

Whether you are a young child just starting to play or someone who has played for decades, there’s a place for you at the Manitoba Ball Hockey Association.

Textile shop becomes hub for Ukrainian refugees

While they have no formal training as social workers, Candice Desjardins and the staff at Custom Repair and Stitchery are making a huge difference in the lives of hundreds of Ukrainians now living in Winnipeg.

Met schools create thought-provoking theatre

Judging by the amount of work students at the Seven Oaks Performing Arts Centre are putting into A New Brain, the show is bound to be a hit.

Online fraud is on the rise – protect yourself

While society as a whole is doing a slightly better job of protecting itself online, we can still do a whole lot better, according to the results of a recent study by Security.org. While it surveyed 1,000 Americans, Canadians display similar behaviours.

Sweets to Go will keep you coming back

Every aspect of Sweets to Go is designed to make you feel at home, from the rustic decor down to the delicious treats.

Volker Hanke knows his fish

Volker Hanke’s had a passion for fish for more than a half-century. It followed him from Germany to Winnipeg. Now he wants to share his enjoyment with the community.

Honouring the tattoo tradition

Recently opened at 1416 Erin St., Born Wild Tattoo is a throwback to the older style of shops, where the walls are filled with designs to choose from, owner Shawn Farrell said. Long appreciative of the practice and art of tattooing, Farrell said he looks forward to helping people pick the right kind of design to express themselves through.

On the fast track to success

Take a large group of motivated athletes, mix in hard work and add good coaching. That’s the recipe for success for Dakota Collegiate’s boys’ track and field team.

A heartfelt thank you

I hope you’re not tired of hearing stories about how generous Manitobans are because I have one more for you.

Smart-saving company earns TIME accolade

A man with deep Winnipeg connections has come up with an idea so engaging that it earned him a spot on Time Magazine’s list of 2022’s top inventions. (See wfp.to/SVW.)

Donate unwanted warm clothing this fall

The kids are back at school, and amateur football is in full swing. That means it’s fall, and winter is soon behind.

Build your credit rating while renting

While making on-time mortgage payments can help people build a credit history, paying rent did not — until now. The innovation comes at a good time, as higher prices are forcing some people to delay buying homes of their own.

Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’…

Because the need never stops, neither does marathon cyclist Arvid Loewen.

Camp Manitou adds lake, biking trails

HEADINGLEY

Karma Yoga helps support Main Street Project

Susan Burko is a Winnipeg woman who raises funds for Main Street Project by teaching yoga classes amid the beautiful backdrop of Kildonan Park.

You can take the boy out of Winnipeg…

A recent business trip to New York City brought me reminders of Winnipeg, both good and bad.

In late May, I spent five nights in the heart of New York at the Knickerbocker Hotel in Times Square. The location is perfect, as the rooftop terrace is across the street from the ball that drops on New Year’s Eve. As soon as you step onto the road, you are on Broadway, with Harry Potter and the Cursed Child playing a half-block away.

Walk a few more minutes, and you will see theatres hosting the likes of Hugh Jackman, Billy Crystal, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Matthew Broderick in Plaza Suite. Add the giant video screens and tourists from around the world, and the place is electric 24/7.

I sat in the hotel lounge on my first evening in town, enjoying a pint. To my right were a musician and PR agent discussing a tour and speaking of legendary bands (the musician’s back was to me, and I could not place him). Directly in front of me was a group of folks talking about theatre.

Don’t take refugee stories for granted

As Winnipeg begins to welcome Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion of their country, I urge you to not get tired of their stories, because they are in need of everything and will need our help for some time.

My church is helping two families who have made it over and we are working to bring more over on our own dime. The cost is high, but we will keep helping.

The first family saw their oldest daughter get married a few days before the invasion. Days later, they were awakened by a call from Canada telling them Russia had invaded. They didn’t believe it until a few minutes later, when they heard the planes flying overhead on their way to bomb a nearby military base. The husband rushed to find a working ATM, picked up his wife and two young kids, and they fled to Romania. They worked their way to Winnipeg where within a week he found a job, and they rented an apartment.

The second family had an emergency suitcase ready, along with provisions in case they had to hide in the woods or a bomb shelter with three kids aged two, 11 and 14. They made their way to the Polish border, where the lineup to cress stretched 12 kilometres and only moved four kilometres each day. After a day in line, they had to leave because their youngest had a fever.

Be careful with your information online

Fraudsters have picked up some new tricks during the pandemic, so it’s best to prepare yourself.

Because we were suddenly confined to our homes back in 2020, people began interacting with call centres en masse, as we could not go down to our banks or stores to deal with issues in-person. Those calls were more frequent and several studies I’ve read show they also lasted longer on average, too. We don’t like waiting and neither do scammers, so they changed their activities to make best use of their time, according to a few experts I have interviewed for some of my freelance work.

Here is a list of the information that scammers seek out, and where find it:

• Phone numbers, names, social insurance numbers and account numbers of millions of people can be bought on the dark web;

Grandpa’s backyard a family hub

While Arvid Loewen is best known for summer pursuits that benefit African children, he also spends his winters blessing youngsters much closer to home.For many years Loewen has cycled thousands of kilometres each summer, setting several Guinness world records in the process. He and his bicycle have raised more than $8 million for Mully Children’s family, a street rescue mission in Kenya. In one year alone his goal was to raise enough money to provide 600,000 meals to children. Since being introduced to the cause many years ago, Loewen said he was compelled to help. The physical suffering he endured each year was secondary to blessing children whose suffering was far worse.While Loewen has likely engaged in his last super-long cycling event, he is still keeping busy finding ways to help his 11 grandchildren burn off some energy. When winter hits, his grandkids and their friends flock to what he calls the Loewen Winterplex, a recreation centre located in his backyard.“We are fortunate to live in the city, but on a deep lot, 52 feet by  229 feet,” Loewen said. “Since our kids were children, our backyard has been a children’s paradise.”Just like Loewen’s summer bike rides, the Winterplex is no small affair. The rink is 2,600 square feet and there is also an ice luge to enjoy. In the summer he offers zip lining, volleyball courts, soccer and a climbing wall.The fun began when Loewen’s children were small, around a quarter century ago. After a few years’ break as those children started their own families, the backyard is bustling again as those 11 grandkids and their friends flock to the Winterplex. Loewen estimates he gets between 300 and 500 visits every winter.But there’s no free lunch. Each fall there’s a family work day when the rink boards and other materials are brought out. In the spring, the crew comes back to take down the winter gear and set up for warmer weather.There are some incentives, both for setting up and as a break from the fun. Grandma Ruth Loewen is noted for her chocolate chip cookies, and when a crowd is expected a fresh batch goes in the oven.“There is not a single child I know of who doesn’t like chocolate chip cookies,” Loewen said.Loewen said he loves having the children over and the more, the merrier. When they want to have a game, some of his children and their spouses send out an email blast with the date and time. Usually a good crowd shows up, with the kids playing and the parents staying warm by a bonfire. Some times they even have a wiener roast.“We’re giving these kids an alternative to the video games inside and that’s a big deal,” Loewen said. “We’re the grandparents with the cool backyard.”Tony Zerucha is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email him at tzerucha@gmail.com

While Arvid Loewen is best known for summer pursuits that benefit African children, he also spends his winters blessing youngsters much closer to home.

For many years Loewen has cycled thousands of kilometres each summer, setting several Guinness world records in the process. He and his bicycle have raised more than $8 million for Mully Children’s family, a street rescue mission in Kenya. In one year alone his goal was to raise enough money to provide 600,000 meals to children. 

Since being introduced to the cause many years ago, Loewen said he was compelled to help. The physical suffering he endured each year was secondary to blessing children whose suffering was far worse.

Hoping that holiday travel plans will hold

If the past two years has taught me anything, it is to be grateful for the little things in life and to not take anything for granted.In pre-pandemic times, there were a lot more givens in my life, from the mundane — such as knowing there would be toilet paper at the store whenever I needed it — to the more important, such as being able to count down the days until my brother and his family from the United States get off the plane at the airport for their annual Christmas visit. They did not come up last year, so we opened gifts over FaceTime. While it was nice to see them, it was sad that we couldn’t be together.While they have their tickets booked to come up this Christmas, their actual arrival is far from guaranteed. First there were worries that because my sister-in-law visited her family in Turkey and returned to the United States less than two weeks before they come here that there could be restrictions on her travel. So far so good, but she hasn’t got on a plane yet and multiple experiences with ticket agents and border guards leave us tense until we learn they have made it past.Then comes making sure they have proof of their vaccinations and confirming that the proof they have will be sufficient at both the airport and customs. It was during this process that my brother learned the person who gave my nephew his first shot never entered the information in the state data base, so he had to go back to the lab and get them to change it.There are also worries about changing government restrictions to contend with. In preparation for their flights back to the United States, my family had to book tests within so many hours of their departure time. As they are leaving Jan. 2, that initially meant needing to get one New Year’s Eve but then the United States said they need proof of a negative test within 24 hours so they had to find a place open on New Year’s Day, which they did.So, as arrival day approaches, we are cautiously hopeful our family will all be together soon. It’s been two years, and since the last time several relatives have died, the health of others has declined and everyone is two years older. Milestones and even births have been missed. We hope it all comes together because the last two years have reinforced that more time together is not guaranteed.Tony Zerucha is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email him at tzerucha@gmail.com

If the past two years has taught me anything, it is to be grateful for the little things in life and to not take anything for granted.

In pre-pandemic times, there were a lot more givens in my life, from the mundane — such as knowing there would be toilet paper at the store whenever I needed it — to the more important, such as being able to count down the days until my brother and his family from the United States get off the plane at the airport for their annual Christmas visit. They did not come up last year, so we opened gifts over FaceTime. While it was nice to see them, it was sad that we couldn’t be together.

While they have their tickets booked to come up this Christmas, their actual arrival is far from guaranteed. First there were worries that because my sister-in-law visited her family in Turkey and returned to the United States less than two weeks before they come here that there could be restrictions on her travel. So far so good, but she hasn’t got on a plane yet and multiple experiences with ticket agents and border guards leave us tense until we learn they have made it past.

Help others help themselves with Kiva

I have been writing about financial technology for the past decade and I have been fortunate to meet dozens of people who have devoted their lives to using technology to improve the lives of the world’s poorest people. These brilliant minds fuse their experience with some combination of mobile technology, the internet, satellites, artificial intelligence, and computer algorithms to devise ways of helping people become self-sufficient.In the world’s poorest or most remote areas that can be quite a chore. So many things we take for granted in North America — such as clean water, telecommunications, safe roads, banking, and even our health — are luxuries in parts of Africa, Asia, South America and yes, even close to home. Yet these folks labour on, and in many cases are making a clear difference in many lives.One such organization that has been helping people help themselves for more than 10 years is Kiva (kiva.org), a not-for-profit based in San Francisco. I met one of Kiva’s executives once and have remained in touch.Kiva crowdfunds loans for people’s most basic needs. For as little as $25, you can support dozens of worthy causes that benefit people with whom you can empathize on some level.You can help a family send their children to school, start a business or get access to clean water or heat. Filters allow you to help people in specific parts of the world, or those looking needing specific types of assistance such as single parents or businesspeople. Every cent loaned goes to the causes.Astute readers will notice the use of words such as “loan” and “borrow”. When you support someone on Kiva, they will pay you back. It helps create self-sufficiency and makes your dollars go farther. Kiva has attracted 4.1 million borrowers and 1.9 million lenders who have provided $1.66 billion in loans at a 96.3 per cent repayment rate.“We believe lending alongside thousands of others is one of the most powerful and sustainable ways to create economic and social good,” Kiva’s website states. Working with partners like schools and micro-finance institutions on the ground in these countries, Kiva sources applicants, underwrites them and posts them for supporters to fund. Many campaigns are backed by people and companies who will match support dollar for dollar or even multiple dollars per dollar lent. The money goes far.In Rwanda, Eliel seeks $1,000 for fabrics and two machines for his tailoring shop, while in Panama Edgar Arquel requires $2,100 for construction materials, chickens and planting supplies. Over in Indonesia, Rumyati’s children need a smart phone to continue their studies because their school was shut down during the pandemic. Hop over to Tajikistan and Zakir needs help with school supplies.There’s a quote that has been attributed to many from the Navajo Nation to Lao-Tzu but it is so true: “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.”  Tony Zerucha is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email him at tzerucha@gmail.com

I have been writing about financial technology for the past decade and I have been fortunate to meet dozens of people who have devoted their lives to using technology to improve the lives of the world’s poorest people. 

These brilliant minds fuse their experience with some combination of mobile technology, the internet, satellites, artificial intelligence, and computer algorithms to devise ways of helping people become self-sufficient.

In the world’s poorest or most remote areas that can be quite a chore. So many things we take for granted in North America — such as clean water, telecommunications, safe roads, banking, and even our health — are luxuries in parts of Africa, Asia, South America and yes, even close to home. Yet these folks labour on, and in many cases are making a clear difference in many lives.

Paunovic stars in first NFT movie

Winnipegger Aleks Paunovic has enjoyed a great film career and once again he finds himself in a special place.Over more than quarter-century in acting, Paunovic has been in movies and shows with Eddie Murphy, Owen Wilson, Kathy Bates and Michelle Pfeiffer and played key roles in Battlestar Galactica, Planet of the Apes, Snowpiercer and Van Helsing. He has appeared in a number of Canadian TV shows, and keeps a busy schedule.Paunovic recently filmed a movie with the legendary Anthony Hopkins called Zero Contact. It tells the story of a recently deceased billionaire played by Hopkins who unites five people from around the world to defeat his greatest invention, which he fears could destroy mankind. That would be special enough on its own but the story gets even better.Zero Contact will be the first movie to premiere as a ‘non-fungible token’.  NFTs provide digital ownership of physical products and are similar to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. A relatively new concept, NFTs have been used to create digital sports cards and art and are being developed to represent fractional ownership of everything from real estate to sports cars.Canadian Cameron Chell owns CurrencyWorks, the company developing the Zero Contact NFT along with Vuele, a distribution platform for direct-to-consumer, full-length feature film NFTs. Owing to its uniqueness and Hopkins’ involvement, Zero Contact is creating plenty of excitement, and for good reason.Chell believes it will radically alter how entertainment companies and celebrities interact with fans. Zero Contact, for example, will be released in a series of NFTs, including a single NFT containing two different editions of the movie, beginning with the only copy of an earlier version shot with a different actor playing Hopkins’ role. There will be other added goodies too, such as outtakes and a role for the buyer of that single NFT in Zero Contact (the part can be shot and digitally inserted into the copy). Another version with several benefits is limited to 10 NFTs, making them scarce.This is just the beginning, Chell told me. He sees Vuele becoming a marketplace where movie buffs gather to share their love of movies and trade collectibles such as NFTs. Many celebrities, such as Tom Brady, Eminem and Snoop Dogg have created their own NFTs. Done properly, they offer fans the chance to collect unique memorabilia of stars they follow, such as photographs and unique videos, all of them in limited quantities. Basketball player Spencer Dinwiddie has his own company, Calaxy, that helps other celebrities create their own NFTs.NFTs are the future of how movies will be premiered, Chell predicts. Before the red carpet gala or opening weekend, there will be an NFT release. If you want to see it first, you have to get the NFT. Imagine owning the first copy of your favourite classic movie and being able to prove with a digital record that it is indeed the first That is what NFTs can do.  Tony Zerucha is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email him at tzerucha@gmail.com

Winnipegger Aleks Paunovic has enjoyed a great film career and once again he finds himself in a special place.

Over more than quarter-century in acting, Paunovic has been in movies and shows with Eddie Murphy, Owen Wilson, Kathy Bates and Michelle Pfeiffer and played key roles in Battlestar Galactica, Planet of the Apes, Snowpiercer and Van Helsing. He has appeared in a number of Canadian TV shows, and keeps a busy schedule.

Paunovic recently filmed a movie with the legendary Anthony Hopkins called Zero Contact. It tells the story of a recently deceased billionaire played by Hopkins who unites five people from around the world to defeat his greatest invention, which he fears could destroy mankind. That would be special enough on its own but the story gets even better.

New linebacker comes into his own for Rifles

He lost a pivotal year of development and switched positions at training camp, but the Winnipeg Rifles’ newest linebacker is adjusting quite well.

Through the Rifles’ first three games, Brandon Kamenz was second in the Prairie Football Conference with 49 defensive points. His 17 tackles were also second-best in the six-team league. In Rifles’ first win of the season on Sept. 12, a 20-18 squeaker against the Edmonton Wildcats, Kamenz played a key role, forcing a fumble and taking an interception 65 yards to the house for a touchdown.

“The tight end motioned across the line and I bumped down to pick him up,” Kamenz said of his pick-six. “I jumped in front and made the interception.”

“It was a game-changing play,” Rifles head coach Geordie Wilson said. “Brandon read that play and took it in from 65 yards. That took the score from 6-0 to 13-0. It made a big difference.”

School sports help kids develop as people

While the Louis Riel School Division’s new sport convenor’s first priority is getting some school activities up and running after the shutdown, she has much bigger plans for down the road.

“I’m excited to be here. Everyone’s been awesome,” Jordana Milne began.

That said, she begins her role as schools are hopefully coming out of the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. That means getting existing programs and sports activities up and running again after a year or more of inactivity. She is developing ways to encourage participation.

“We learned some valuable lessons during the pandemic, “Milne said. “Teachers showed their resilience by developing alternative teaching methods that incorporated more outdoor instruction, for example.”

Get ready to rip old documents at Shred Fest

Many of us have used some of the extra time we’ve had over the past couple of years to do some home cleaning but are now left wondering what to do with those stacks of old documents we no longer need.

Don’t worry, because Patrick LeBlanc and the St. Boniface St. Vital Rotary Club have you covered with the Rotary/Teen Stop Jeunesse Shred Fest. Taking place Sat., Sept. 25 in the parking lot at St. Vital Centre between the transit loop and CIBC on Meadowood Drive, the event gives everyone an opportunity to safely and securely dispose of personal and business documents in an environmentally friendly way.

The suggested donation is $10 per banker’s box and they request you remove Shannon Files and bull clips which can damage machinery. The hours are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

LeBlanc, who has served with the Rotary Club for 20 years, is also the executive director of Teen Stop Jeunesse. He said the Rotary Club has always been there for the charity which operates programs and a drop-in centre for people ages eight to 18.

Artist’s new show celebrates celebrations

Connie Wawruck-Hemmett produces works in a variety of media and her output is influenced by an eclectic range of experiences and subjects.

They come together in Carnivalia: Art by Connie Wawruck-Hemmett, her latest exhibit at the Wayne Arthur Gallery, located at 186 Provencher Blvd. The exhibit runs Tuesdays through Saturdays between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. through Sept. 29.

“My first memory from when I was kid was my mom saying ‘there’s not a single piece of paper in this house that Connie hasn’t drawn on’,” Wawruck-Hemmett said with a chuckle.

Money was often scarce in her early years, so Wawruck-Hemmett worked with whatever supplies were handy. That was good preparation for an artistic career that has seen her create with pretty much every medium save for oil-based paints, she said. In high school her teacher was renowned artist Ted Korol, whom Wawruck-Hemmett described as an amazing teacher.

Oak Bluff student lands Danzker scholarship

The second time proved to be the charm for Oak Bluff’s Adriana Pasieczka.

The second-year student at the University of Manitoba’s School of Art was recently awarded the 2021 Mark & Dorothy Danzker Scholarship for Excellence. Pasieczka said the $1,000 scholarship will go a long way to helping her with her studies this year.

She applied for the scholarship through Folklorama, which presents it together with the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba. It honours the memory of former Winnipeg city councillor Mark Danzker, and his wife Dorothy. The Danzker family immigrated to Canada in 1907 before settling in Winnipeg in 1911. Danzker entered the workforce at the age of 10, bought a pharmacy at 16 and owned several successful companies. He served two terms on city council from 1960 to 1968, and helped bring the Pan Am Games to Winnipeg in 1967.

Pasieczka is deeply connected to her Ukrainian roots. She spent 13 years with the Vesna Dance Group, and has volunteered at the Holy Family Nursing Home, when she learned about Ukrainian history and traditions. For several years, Pasieczka also attended Ridna Schola, or Ukrainian School.Her large family also helps keep those traditions alive, Pasieczka said. They are active at the Holy Family Ukrainian Catholic Church, where she has read liturgies. They also celebrate Ukrainian Easter and Christmas, carefully observing traditions such as pysanky, the art of dyeing Easter eggs, and the 12 meatless dishes on Christmas Eve.

Portage la Prairie excited for new hospital

A new hospital in Portage la Prairie, which should be completed by 2025, will reduce the number of medical trips local residents need to take outside the region, officials said when making the announcement at the end of last month.The new hospital will offer more inpatient beds, expanded medicine and surgical capacity, and an improved emergency department. The $283-million, two-storey hospital will be at least double the size of the existing Portage General Hospital and is expected to include a minimum of 90 acute care inpatient beds; increased day surgery capacity; an expanded emergency department designed to best practice standards that include treatment and assessment rooms, a trauma room, stretcher bay and an ambulance bay; and enhanced space for a number of programs including diagnostics, dialysis, palliative care and various outpatient services which include lab and rehabilitation.“The new Portage District General Hospital will be bigger and better, providing the community and the region with a modern facility and access to many services that previously may have required multiple trips to Winnipeg or Brandon,” said  Dale Lyle, chairman of the Portage Hospital Foundation.“(This) announcement will support the delivery of health-care services closer to home for patients in a rapidly growing area of our province.”“In addition to expanding clinical opportunities, this new modern facility will further enhance patient care, confidentiality and comfort for people in this region, and provide a better working environment,”added Jane Curtis, CEO of Southern Health–Santé Sud.A Shared Health spokesperson said the current Portage District General Hospital is 65 years old and has seen several additions and renovations. During that time both building design guidelines and clinical best practice standards have improved significantly. “While planning is still ongoing for the hospital, the emergency department will be built to reflect those standards, which include a larger space, more treatment rooms and better sightlines between staff and patients - all of which serve to improve patient flow,” the spokesperson said. “The new emergency department will also provide enhanced patient privacy and take best practice measures recommended by infection prevention and control experts into account.” The spokesperson said planning is still ongoing between provincial officials and clinical and system leaders and will be based on current and projected needs. Those plans will also be informed by Manitoba’s Clinical and Preventive Services Plan.“The plan uses resources in more innovative and modernized ways, using a network of hubs that are staffed and equipped to meet the needs of Manitoba patients,” the spokesperson said.

Recipe for success

Amanda Cyncora loves her customers, and thankfully they are beginning to return after a tough couple of years.Cyncora, along with her father Brad, owns Spike’s Grill, which is located in the basement of the Silver Spike at 202 Bond St. It’s a family restaurant, right down to the recipes for hamburgers and perogies that have been passed down through the generations.The Cyncoras are restaurant veterans. Brad has been at it for more than four decades while Amanda has fond memories of helping out as a child by washing dishes and buttering toast.“As soon as I could I was cooking,” she said.Cyncora loves Transcona so much she bought a house nearby. She likes being in the community and visiting with her customers when they cross paths.“That’s what brings me in every day, the lovely people I get to deal with,” Cyncora said.Over the past 18 months Cyncora hasn’t seen nearly enough of many of those folks as she would like. As the pandemic loomed, people stayed home. Then came the shutdowns, false starts, re-openings and more shutdowns. It took an emotional toll.Before COVID-19, business was great, Cyncora said. Through word of mouth it got to the point where people lined up to get in. Then suddenly she was struggling. It was tough on the bank account and tough on Cyncora, who loves to keep busy and surround herself with the people she cares so much about.The ever-changing rules are tough for small, family-owned restaurants like Spike’s Grill, Cyncora said. At the lowest point she had to lay off staff and throw away supplies.“You can only freeze so much. A lot of that stuff you cannot freeze,” Cyncora said.As restrictions changed on short notice it was tough to prepare, she added. Food items have to be ordered and that can create delays at her suppliers. Then she goes out and sees other restaurants not following the rules it has cost her so dearly to comply with. Cyncora wishes there was more uniformity.“It’s hard to be a rule follower and also a business owner,” Cyncora said. “I have rent to pay and bills to pay, that hasn’t changed. This is my livelihood. How am I supposed to keep this up if I cannot even bring customers in?”Thankfully business is picking up and is almost where it was before anyone ever heard of COVID-19. For that, Cyncora is very thankful.Still, she misses the way things used to be, when people weren’t afraid to visit with each other. It’s what makes restaurants like Spike’s Grill what they are — places where folks are greeted warmly and treated great.“People love that,” Cyncora said. “I know most of my customers’ names, I remember their specials. I see them walk in the door and I put their hash browns on or get their burger ready.“I miss my people and it’s been hard,” she said with a pause. “They say we’re all together but those first few months I felt like no one was there.”Cyncora has one final message for everyone: it’s time to help each other.“Don’t be afraid to support your favourite restaurants, don’t be afraid to go out. It’s still a community and we should all support each other.”

Amanda Cyncora loves her customers, and thankfully they are beginning to return after a tough couple of years.

Cyncora, along with her father Brad, owns Spike’s Grill, which is located in the basement of the Silver Spike at 202 Bond St. It’s a family restaurant, right down to the recipes for hamburgers and perogies that have been passed down through the generations.

The Cyncoras are restaurant veterans. Brad has been at it for more than four decades while Amanda has fond memories of helping out as a child by washing dishes and buttering toast.

A guardian falls

While a beloved spirit tree in Bois-des-Ésprits may have fallen, it will never be forgotten.

Woody-Mhitik, the three-metre-tall spirit tree that watched over the forest for the past 15 years, succumbed to the elements earlier this month. The wood began showing signs of decay in 2020 and slowly its condition deteriorated.

The story begins in 2004 with one of Save Our Seine’s first campaigns, executive director Michele Kading said. The group wanted to protect the forest, which was slated for clearing in order to build the Royalwood community.

SOS connected with Robert Leclair and Walter Mirosh, two members of Les Gens de Bois Woodcarving Club, initially with the idea of having them contribute a few pieces for a raffle. The group was celebrating its 25th anniversary and wanted to do something special.

“Be kind, rewind…”

Kids these days will never know the feeling of going up and down the aisles at the corner video store desperately looking for a VHS movie to watch on a Friday night but Kevin Doherty and Bill Hrenchuk sure do and they’ve chronicled that experience and more in a new book that will resonate with those who grew up in the video era.The Good Ole Days of Video Rental  describes life at the onset of the video age, which began in the early 1980s. The duo spent three years interviewing customers, clerks, managers and owners about their memories and amusing experiences from those times.The trip began when Hrenchuk created a Facebook group for former employees of Bill’s Video, one of the popular chains of the day. The stories flooded in and brought back the memories.“I said to Bill that maybe we should put this in a book, there might be something here,” Doherty said.The advent of home video was revolutionary. Up to then, you had to see the movie in the theatre, and if you were lucky and remembered the time, years later on television.“When movies came out on videotape, you could have it in your house to yourself to watch - for free, without commercials,” Doherty said. “You could pause it, you could control it. It was like a god complex. The whole mind-blowing experience of being able to watch it whenever you wanted, however you wanted, for just a few bucks…”Doherty, now 52, still remembers the day his father brought home the family’s first VHS player, along with copies of Jaws 2 and Popeye. It was a huge machine his dad had bought downtown for $1,800.“We’d heard about them but we didn’t think we’d see them in our lifetime,” Doherty said of the machines. “When my dad said Jaws 2 was on there (pointing to a tape) it was hard to understand. And when he hit play I was blown away, my life was turned upside down.”Along the way Hrenchuk, 50, and Doherty learned all sorts of information about Winnipeg’s role in the Canadian video industry.Canada’s first video retnal store was opened here by Gilles Verrier in 1979, at a time when only 20 movies were available on video anywhere in the world. It was such a novelty that the Yellow Pages didn’t even have a category for it. That changed soon enough. Soon rental shops were on every street corner, in many major retailers. Even corner stores and 7-Elevens offered video rentals“We didn’t know the video store was going to vanish,” Doherty said. “We thought it was going to be there forever.”Doherty remembers writing a two-page letter as a teen to get his dream job at Star Time Foto Video and thinking he had hit the jackpot and never wanted to leave. Now he is an independent filmmaker, still pursuing his passion for the industry.While we have so many more entertainment options than we did in the 1980s, there’s something missing.“Netflix is great, it’s efficient and it’s cheap but you only get to watch what they’re offering,” Doherty said. “But when you were at a video store looking for a certain title and you didn’t see it, you weren’t leaving empty handed. You would grab whatever caught your eye. A lot of people saw a lot of movies they would never have otherwise.”The Good Ole Days of Video Rental is available on Amazon and at Coles in Kildonan Place. Doherty and Hrenchuk hope to have copies available in other Winnipeg stores over the coming weeks.

Kids these days will never know the feeling of going up and down the aisles at the corner video store desperately looking for a VHS movie to watch on a Friday night but Kevin Doherty and Bill Hrenchuk sure do and they’ve chronicled that experience and more in a new book that will resonate with those who grew up in the video era.

The Good Ole Days of Video Rental describes life at the onset of the video age, which began in the early 1980s. The duo spent three years interviewing customers, clerks, managers and owners about their memories and amusing experiences from those times.

The trip began when Hrenchuk created a Facebook group for former employees of Bill’s Video, one of the popular chains of the day. The stories flooded in and brought back the memories.

Johnson wins trifecta at Rossmere

The August long weekend was one to remember for Carter Johnson at the Rossmere Country Club.Johnson, just 18 years old, captured a rare triple-header at the Rossmere Country Club’s club championships, taking the junior title, the Rossmere Horse Race and the overall club championship. The week began with Johnson beating 23 other competitors for the junior championship.  On Aug. 1, he won the Rossmere Horse Race, a competition in which one golfer is eliminated per hole, leaving two vying for first place at the final tee. For that title, Johnson edged veteran Rob Oliphant.Then, on Aug. 2 ,Johnson capped his week by shooting a 69 to give him a three-day score of 210, good for a four-stroke victory over Cam McIntyre for the overall club championship . He showed great consistency, adding rounds of 68 and 73 earlier in the weekend. Aaron McIntyre, who made short work of the course with a first-round 64, finished in third with a 219 total, one shot better than Oliphant.“It feels good to get a win and the week overall was a really good one,” Johnson said. “I had lots of fun while playing some really good golf and taking home the trifecta.”Oliphant captured Rossmere’s senior championship with a two-day score of 143. He is headed to La Malbaie, Que., from Sept. 21 to 24 to play in the Canadian senior men’s championship at the Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu.Johnson’s stock is rising. In 2018 he finished fourth in the Manitoba Spring Classic before putting up three Top 10 finishes in 2019, highlighted by a sixth-place finish at the Manitoba juniors championship at Pine Ridge Golf Club.Over the weekend, 150 golfers participated in Rossmere’s club championship sat a course where the staff ensured they had a great time, general manager Scott Parker said. Course superintendent Greg Mitchell, Al Moar and their teams had to deal with a lack of precipitation but had the course in great shape.

The August long weekend was one to remember for Carter Johnson at the Rossmere Country Club.

Johnson, just 18 years old, captured a rare triple-header at the Rossmere Country Club’s club championships, taking the junior title, the Rossmere Horse Race and the overall club championship. 

The week began with Johnson beating 23 other competitors for the junior championship.  On Aug. 1, he won the Rossmere Horse Race, a competition in which one golfer is eliminated per hole, leaving two vying for first place at the final tee. For that title, Johnson edged veteran Rob Oliphant.

Oliphant heads for national senior tourney

Rob Oliphant is preparing to test his skills against Canada’s best.The longtime Rossmere Country Club golfer qualified for the Canadian senior men’s Golf Championship following a third-place finish at the Golf Manitoba men’s senior tournament, held at the Steinbach Fly-In Club from Aug. 4 to 6.The showing means Oliphant will play at the Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu in La Malbaie, Que. from Sept. 21 to 24.Oliphant’s spot on the provincial team was far from assured, as he put up scores of 75 and 76 over the first two rounds to find himself in a large group of contenders. Thankfully, he made up ground on the final day with a two-under-par 70, tied for the best round of the tournament.“I actually hit it better the first two days, but I putted really well the last day,” Oliphant admitted.As his career has progressed, Oliphant, now 56, said he’s had to pay more attention to his putting and short game, which sometimes elude him. But he shone when it counted, especially on the 15th hole during the final round when he found himself in a close competition with 2020 champion Bruce North. Oliphant hit the water but managed to save par. While that was the highlight Oliphant said he also made several birdie and par-saving putts that day.Oliphant has called Rossmere home for more than 40 years and the course has been good to him. He’s won at least one club title in every decade of his life beginning in his teens and running through his 50s. Oliphant took to the game quickly after playing his first round at age nine. Along the way he earned a few more Rossmere trophies, made two Manitoba mid-amateur teams and placed fifth at the Canadian junior championships.This latest accolade almost didn’t happen. Earlier in the summer Oliphant broke a toe, which threw off his conditioning. A few days before Rossmere’s club championships, Oliphant told club manager Scott Parker he wasn’t going to enter, but Parker made him promise to sign up if he could break par on that day’s round. Oliphant went out and shot a 67.“Then I had to keep my word,” he said with a smile.Going into the provincial tournament, Oliphant said he believed he could compete with the top entrants and he could vie for the title if things fell his way. While he fell short ot top spot, he is happy with the results and looking forward to playing for a Canadian title on a great course.“It’s a beautiful golf course and it’s pretty exciting to be able to play on it,” Oliphant said.

Rob Oliphant is preparing to test his skills against Canada’s best.

The longtime Rossmere Country Club golfer qualified for the Canadian senior men’s Golf Championship following a third-place finish at the Golf Manitoba men’s senior tournament, held at the Steinbach Fly-In Club from Aug. 4 to 6.

The showing means Oliphant will play at the Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu in La Malbaie, Que. from Sept. 21 to 24.

New rec co-ordinator sees great opportunities

The RM of East St. Paul’s new recreation services co-ordinator looks forward to sharing her love of the outdoors and keeping everyone busy doing activities they enjoy.Nicole McDonald started  in her new role this spring, coming over from the the Macdonald-Headingly Recreation District, where she provided programming to two municipalities and several towns within them. She admitted that it was a challenge but said it taught her how do deal with many different groups of people at the same time. Now that she is serving one community exclusively, McDonald said she has all kinds of ideas on how to keep folks active. One is to take advantage of East St. Paul’s 13 parks, which is right up her alley. McDonald said she loves to relax in the outdoors. She previously worked at Camp Manitou in nature-based outdoor recreation and brings that experience with her.Many of those outdoor programs saw McDonald working with kids, which is something she enjoys. She said she has developed after-school programs that she hopes families in her new community will love. She adds that the experience she gained running programs at  Camp Manitou will benefit more than just the kids.“It’s really fun to be able to come in and take my knowledge of children-based programs and work it into adult programs, too,” she said.Of course, outdoor programs are now more important than ever given how shut off many of us are and have been from the outside world and each other.McDonald said using recreation as a means of social connection and communing with nature are important restorative measures.“I think there is so much need for outdoor programs and I think we forget what the benefits are of that,” McDonald said.McDonald said she’s enjoyed meeting members of the community and said that making new friends and creating new ties is crucial in providing everyone with activities they will enjoy. As she gets to know people in the community, she can identify gaps in service and she can help them build on their strengths. “It’s a fantastic community, people are coming in to reach out and help provide programs,” she said.McDonald has a survey planned that will ask people what they want to see. But she’s not waiting for the results, as she said she hopes to have 30 different programs launch this summer. Do you have an idea for a program you want to see or do you have a skill you want to share with others?“Reach out contact me,” McDonald said. “My door is always open to everyone.”

The RM of East St. Paul’s new recreation services co-ordinator looks forward to sharing her love of the outdoors and keeping everyone busy doing activities they enjoy.

Nicole McDonald started  in her new role this spring, coming over from the the Macdonald-Headingly Recreation District, where she provided programming to two municipalities and several towns within them. She admitted that it was a challenge but said it taught her how do deal with many different groups of people at the same time. 

Now that she is serving one community exclusively, McDonald said she has all kinds of ideas on how to keep folks active. One is to take advantage of East St. Paul’s 13 parks, which is right up her alley. McDonald said she loves to relax in the outdoors. She previously worked at Camp Manitou in nature-based outdoor recreation and brings that experience with her.

Riverview T-shirts a hit in the neighbourhood

Riverview Community Centre’s latest fundraising effort was a hit and similar events could be held in the near future.

Last month, the centre sold T-shirts featuring a map of the neighbourhood. Designed by resident Kerry Feeney, it was initially meant for a small group of people, highlighting buildings of interest such as École Riverview School, Churchill High School, Grace Bible Church and the community centre itself.

“It highlighted what was important to her family and the families in the group she made the shirts for,” said Tessa Allen, Riverview CC communications co-ordinator and summer camp supervisor.

But Feeney’s design ended up serving a larger purpose. Around the same time, club president Jason Oliver was considering having custom T-shirts made, so Feeney offered his design to the club as a fundraiser. They placed it on black or blue shirts along with the phrase “the hood where we play, the hood where we stay.”

Fibre optic internet moving closer to reality

Work continues on bringing high-speed, fibre optic internet to the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region and there’s been plenty of progress, RM of Macdonald Reeve Brad Erb said.

The work is being done through a partnership between Manitoba internet service provider RFNOW and JohnQ Public, the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region’s economic development arm, and both parties will own 50 per cent of the service.

Service provision will occur in a phased rollout over the next two years with the first phase including the communities of the RM of Portage la Prairie, Headingley, Macdonald, Ritchot, Stonewall and Rockwood.

These  areas were chosen  through a business analysis that identified them as the best starting points to ensure the project’s sustainability and profitability.

Fort la Reine fundraising gets a boost

Fort la Reine Museum’s plansto restore its bastion towers got a big boost recently when the Portage la Prairie institution learned it will receive a $50,000 grant from Manitoba’s Building Sustainable Communities program.

Madison Connolly, executive director of Fort la Reine, said the $50,000 is more than one-third of the project’s total cost and that the museum and its supporters have now reached 82 per cent of its fundraising goal, thanks to Building Sustainable Communities, the Thomas Sill Foundation, other donors and the many area businesses that have supported the project so far. She added that  large donations help generate momentum with potential donors, who see the project’s chances of being funded increase.

“Getting that sum is incredible,” Connolly admitted. “That allows us to meet our timeline of starting next spring.”

Once complete the interior spaces of the  forts corner towers will exhibit the histories of local Indigenous people along with world views.

New traffic control makes pedestrians safer

A new type of pedestrian-activated traffic light on Henderson Highway between Leighton and McLeod avenues is bound to catch motorists’ attention on a section of road that has been dangerous in the past.

The lights, installed during the resurfacing of Henderson Highway, look like regular stoplights but are only activated when pedestrians wish to cross the road. They replace the standard crossing lights that had been located there.

The location is a dangerous one. In the early afternoon of April 14, 2011, a 22-year-old woman was killed when attempting to proceed at the crosswalk with the lights activated. An 18-year-old male was charged in her death. Witnesses said the vehicle appeared to be travelling at a high rate of speed.

It was for reasons such as this that the extra step was taken, North Kildonan Coun. Jeff Browaty said.

Get ready to get active at Fraser’s Grove

While families who use the play structure at Fraser’s Grove Park have nowhere to play right now, they will soon have a new and improved set of equipment to climb up, slide down and generally have fun on.

North Kildonan city councillor Jeff Browaty said work on upgrading the equipment at Fraser’s Grove Park began July 22 and should take roughly one month to complete. The old equipment, sandbox and swings set have been taken away and the new equipment will soon be installed.

“Fraser’s Grove Park is one of our major parks and we try to keep it to a higher standard,” Browaty said.

“There will be different equipment that is suitable for children from different age groups.”

R.M. of Portage la Prairie by-election is Aug. 4

Three candidates are running in a by-election to be the next councillor representing Ward 3 in the R.M. of Portage la Prairie., which lies north of the City of Portage la Prairie and extends up to Lake Manitoba. Voting takes place Aug. 4.

Kirk Gyselinck, Barry Rud and Ryan Kontzie are running to replace Terry Simpson, who retired earlier this year after serving 15 years on council.

Voting will takes place at Canad Inns Portage la Prairie, 2401 Saskatchewan Ave. W., between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Those voting may be required to bring one piece of government-issued photo identification or at least two other documents that provide proof of identity.

Resident voters must be Canadian citizens, at least 18 years of age and have been a resident of Ward 3 for at least six months as of Aug. 4. Non-resident voters must be Canadian citizens and at least 18 years of age. They must also have been registered owners of land in Ward 3 for at least six months as of Aug. 4.

Keep kids busy with craft and film classes

If you’re wondering how to keep the kids busy this summer the Headingley Library has you covered.

Every Thursday at 11 a.m. the library hosts Take-Home Crafts with Makayla and Emma on Zoom and Instagram. The classes are appropriate for kids aged 10 and older and parents can register children by emailing hml@headingleylibrary.ca.

On Aug. 5 the kids will be painting squishies before switching to mandala rocks on Aug. 12. On Aug. 19 they will make bouncy balls and on Aug. 26 they will create galaxy and ocean jars.

Once the kids are registered, parents can contact the library to arrange to pick up their child’s take-home kit, which includes almost everything they will need to participate. The kits are free for library patrons and the only items they will need from home may be scissors.

Portage Legion looks forward to re-opening

While everyone involved with the Portage la Prairie Legion cannot wait to re-open, it’s not as simple as opening the door and turning on the lights, president Bob Oldford explained.

Located at 275 Duke Ave., the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 65 is currently only open for bingos on Monday evenings, Oldford said. Doors open at 5 p.m., with all the action beginning at 5:30. Due to distancing restrictions there is limited capacity, so be sure and get there early to get a spot.

Oldford said the Legions to add more activities on Thursdays and Fridays after the next government announcement of eased pandemic public health restrictions, with Aug. 12 and 13 being the target date.

“Unfortunately, there’s still too many restrictions set up,” Oldford said.

Hungry and on the road? Try these spots

Whether you are headed to the cottage for a weekend or just want to get out of the house, there are great places close to Winnipeg where you can get some delicious food within an hour’s drive (if you drive like I do, anyway).Dugald and Oakbank may be the combined pizza capital of Manitoba. Just a few minutes outside of Winnipeg down Dugald Road (in Dugald of all places) is Timothy’s Country Butcher Shop, which, in addition to providing great, fresh-cut meats and homemade sausages, makes a tremendous wood-fired pizza. Choose from seven different pizzas made with meats produced on the premises.A few kilometres north in Oakbank there are three good choices for pizza. Back at the Ranch is well-known for a great crust and a superb meat lover’s pizza. It also has great sandwiches. One building over is Peppercorn, very nice restaurant and lounge that is popular for its cheesecake. They also make a delicious pizza and have entrees ranging from steaks and salads to burgers and wings.Across the street is the Oakbank Pizza Market. While I have yet to eat there, some friends of mine love it. Oakbank Pizza Market also makes wings and salads. All these restaurants are on Main Street, because most everything is on Main Street in Oakbank.If you don’t mind a bit of a longer drive, or if you ‘re headed to the Whiteshell, visit Blue Haze Barbecue on Fourth Street North in Beausejour. This is award-winning, Southern U.S.-style barbecue. I’ve often had barbecue when visiting my brother in North Carolina and believe me, this competes.On my first visit, I ordered the beef brisket sandwich and homemade garlic sausage. On another trip I ordered frozen portions of pulled pork, potato salad, apple cinnamon pit beans and some extras for my family dinner. They were great. Call ahead and they will prepare a frozen take-out package featuring two pounds of pulled pork, two racks of ribs, one pint of apple cinnamon pit beans and one pint of potato salad.Take these meals to the lake, or enjoy them in Birds Hill Park or at the Daylily Gardens in Beausejour. Put some music on in the car and enjoy the summer drive. You’ll be glad you did.Tony Zerucha is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email him at tzerucha@gmail.com

Whether you are headed to the cottage for a weekend or just want to get out of the house, there are great places close to Winnipeg where you can get some delicious food within an hour’s drive (if you drive like I do, anyway).

Dugald and Oakbank may be the combined pizza capital of Manitoba. Just a few minutes outside of Winnipeg down Dugald Road (in Dugald of all places) is Timothy’s Country Butcher Shop, which, in addition to providing great, fresh-cut meats and homemade sausages, makes a tremendous wood-fired pizza. Choose from seven different pizzas made with meats produced on the premises.

A few kilometres north in Oakbank there are three good choices for pizza. Back at the Ranch is well-known for a great crust and a superb meat lover’s pizza. It also has great sandwiches. One building over is Peppercorn, very nice restaurant and lounge that is popular for its cheesecake. They also make a delicious pizza and have entrees ranging from steaks and salads to burgers and wings.

A fusion of food, ambience and service

Scot McTaggart’s vision for Fusion Grill was a little ahead of its time, almost too far ahead. But he stuck with it and is now celebrating his restaurant’s 25th anniversary as one of Winnipeg’s prime dining spots.

McTaggart began his career gaining experience working in different dining environments. He was general manager of Rumours Comedy Club for six years and worked for legendary restauranteur Oscar Grubert, opening restaurants in his specialty division.

McTaggart always kept an eye out for new technologies which could improve the management of restaurants. While at Mr. Greenjeans, he introduced the city’s first industrial specific computer system and was also an early adopter of computer software.

“In my young mind I thought I had something there,” McTaggart recalled. “Innovation always stayed with me and carried on to this day.”

Mobile vet takes stress out of animal care

Dr. Amber Ly has come up with the perfect way to make visits with the veterinarian easier for both the pets and their humans.

Ly is the owner of Prairie Ly Mobile Veterinary Care, a veterinary service that comes to your home. She can examine, diagnose and treat your pets for most situations she would encounter in a traditional setting but without the obstacles those normal visits can bring.

Bringing an animal to the vet can be a stressful experience for the animal, Ly said. They are in a foreign environment with unfamiliar people and plenty of strange scents. They might also hear other animals. Even getting them into a carrying kennel can be difficult, especially for cats. Owners feed off that tension and become occupied with keeping their animal calm, and that may distract from the consultation.

Ly said that this sort of stress has been magnified during the pandemic as animals needed to be dropped off for vet appointments without their owners.

Studying the psychological toll of COVID-19

There’s no denying the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a significant toll on all of us, and a research group at the University of Manitoba is trying to learn precisely what that toll might be.

Led by Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov, a distinguished professor of psychiatry and researcher, a team of physicians and researchers from the departments of internal medicine, palliative care, psychiatry, and clinical psychology are conducting a series of studies looking at the pandemic’s effects on patients, their families and health-care professionals.

“COVID-19 is affecting people across these three pillars and we need to know something about the emotional response people are having in the course of nearing the end of life,” Chochinov began.The team is looking at people who have died from any cause over the past 18 months, as every one has been influenced by COVID-19, Chochinov explained.

One study looks at how people are experiencing death and dying by conducting detailed interviews with people from hospitals around Winnipeg. What’s it like spending this time alone? How is it only seeing people through goggles and touching them through latex gloves?

Winnipeg South Wolves ready to play ball

The Winnipeg South Wolves junior baseball team and the Winnipeg South Minor Baseball Association (WSMBA) aim to build a baseball program that will stand the test of time.

Together the organizations are creating the infrastructure to ensure a consistent delivery of programs so every child who wants to play baseball in the region can do so. It’s taken much effort over the past few years, but the early results are promising.

Tim Scharer, a member of the junior team’s board of directors, said he decided to create a junior program a couple of years ago, not just a junior team.

He described a cycle whereby people organized teams but once their children aged out, the teams folded. Scharer knew it was important to expand the organization’s programming and volunteer base so the it could withstand those inevitabilities.

‘There to help anyone who needs it’

The War Amps has helped Carlyn Graff-Czehryn for most of her life, like they have helped thousands of others. And as the War Amps key tag service celebrates its 75th anniversary, the organization’s good work continues.

The Key Tag Service was launched in 1946 to help veterans with war amputations work for competitive wages while providing Canadians with a valuable service that funds War Amps programs.

That philosophy continues, as people with amputations and disabilities have returned more than 1.5 million sets of lost keys to their owners.

Graff-Czehryn, who lives in Fort Garry, was born missing part of her left hand, and the War Amps reached out to her parents shortly after her birth. When she was four years old she attended seminars with the War Amps Child Amputee (CHAMP) program, which she remembers as incredibly valuable experiences.

Hitting all the right notes

Sam Ferguson looks to have a bright musical future.

The Grade 9 student at Acadia Junior High recent won first prize in the junior division of the International Trumpet Guild’s Ryan Anthony Memorial Trumpet Competition.

Named in memory of former Canadian Brass member who was also principal trumpet with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and who sadly died of cancer in 2020, the Anthony Competition was part of the ITG’s annual  International Trumpet Competitions.

This year was the third time  Ferguson had participated in the competition, which attracts entrants from across North America and as far away as Australia and China.

Animal Food Bank needs your help

The Animal Food Bank  is struggling to keep up with demand and urgently needs the public’s help to keep operating, says Sara Anema, manager of the Winnipeg chapter.

Founded in 2019, the food bank  for pets has chapters in Kelowna, Calgary and Winnipeg, and Anema said Winnipeg is by far the busiest.

As many as 200 local families a month receive assistance, with volunteers delivering 2,000 pounds of dry dog food and 1,250 pounds of wet food across the city. They’ll even pick up donations if required.Anema said former Transcona resident Nicole Wilks, who now lives in Kelowna, was driving home one day and saw a man who was homeless standing with his dog. He told her he had no problem getting food for himself but struggled to find it for his companion.

“She started the Animal Food Bank after that,” Anema said. “She gets stuff done.”

Aqua Essence breaks ground on its own pool

Winnipeggers are used to picking up almost everything at the neighbourhood mall. Soon their shopping list can include swimming lessons for the whole family.

Come early 2022 , families will be able to book swimming lessons at Aqua Essence, which is opening a private swim training centre at 4-1585 Kenaston Blvd.,  in SmartCentres Winnipeg at  the intersection of Kenaston and Lindenwood Drive East.

Aqua Essence Swim Academy founder Rishona Hyman has long taught classes in backyard pools and at hotels across the city and said she’s excited that she will soon have her own space. She believes a private centre will free families from the frustration of trying to find space in programs operating at the limited supply of public pools.

“For years, demand for swimming lessons has far outstripped what the city can provide,” Hyman said.“Our own growth as a company has been limited due to lack of public swimming space. The city is closing pools these days, not opening them. We’re happy to help reverse that trend.”

Be careful when using QR codes

As we emerge from our caves post-pandemic, one thing you may notice when you hit the malls is the resurgence of QR codes; those digitally created squares that look like ink blots. While they were briefly popular a few years ago, they never really caught on.Like yesterday’s fashions, QR codes have made a comeback, as retailers seek ways to make paying for stuff even easier than before. Now, instead of entering a website address you just have to aim your phone at the QR code, scan it and let the technology take you to fabulous places.Like all technologies there is risk attached, Chris Goettl recently told me. He is a senior director of product management at Ivanti, a technology security firm. When people gravitate to technology, assume fraudsters are too, he advised.They certainly are with QR codes, Goettl said. One early campaign in Russia saw people download a QR code which, when installed on their phones, directed text messages costing $6 each to the fraudster’s bank account. Enough people downloaded the code to make it quite lucrative. Another scheme worked its way into a popular app store and was downloaded as many as one million times before it was discovered.The best way to prevent yourself from falling victim is to understand a criminal’s mindset, Goettl said. The biggest goal of a scammer is to get your credentials by having you fill out a form. They count on you using similar information for your passwords and login identification elsewhere online, so this information can give them a head start to hacking into your bank accounts. Within minutes, a skilled hacker can find a detailed presence you leave online, either through your direct inputs or by tracking other places where you are mentioned by friends, family or business contacts who are also online.Fraudsters are increasingly targetting QR code use at medical practices, pharmacies and other places where people divulge health information. Again, the goal is to get personal information so they can target your accounts or impersonate you online.There are some practical steps you can take to protect yourself and the first is unbelievably simple, Goettl advised. Look to see if someone has taped a fake QR code over the original one. That’s a dead giveaway, but people fall for it. If a QR code takes you to a website address, look at the address carefully to see if it is misspelled to look like a well-known company’s site - this often happens. You can get barcode scanners for your phone that preview the site you’re being directed to to see if it looks legitimate. If you run a business, Ivanti offers a corporate mobile defence product.In this quest for better and faster we must occasionally slow down so we can take conscious steps to protect ourselves.“Users need to be security conscious always and most of the world doesn’t want to deal with that,” Goettl noted. “Nothing you do digitally can ever be truly private. Everything you do, assume somebody is watching.”  Tony Zerucha is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email him at tzerucha@gmail.com

As we emerge from our caves post-pandemic, one thing you may notice when you hit the malls is the resurgence of QR codes; those digitally created squares that look like ink blots. While they were briefly popular a few years ago, they never really caught on.

Like yesterday’s fashions, QR codes have made a comeback, as retailers seek ways to make paying for stuff even easier than before. Now, instead of entering a website address you just have to aim your phone at the QR code, scan it and let the technology take you to fabulous places.

Like all technologies there is risk attached, Chris Goettl recently told me. He is a senior director of product management at Ivanti, a technology security firm. When people gravitate to technology, assume fraudsters are too, he advised.

Cyclist seeks second world record

Long-distance cycling dynamo Arvid Loewen wants to set another world record but, as always, he says it’s not about him - it’s for the children.On June 28 at 5 a.m., Loewen began his quest to become the person who cycles 10,000 kilometres in the fastest time. As with his previous cycling efforts, all funds Loewen raises will support Mully Children’s Family, a street rescue mission in Kenya. Over the past 16 years, he has raised more than $8 million using his platform www.grandpascan.comThis time out, Loewen’s goal is to raise $300,000, which will provide 600,000 meals to children at 50 cents each.Loewen said his relationship with Mully Children’s Family has changed his life. In 2018 he and his wife Ruth took a group of supporters to Kenya to show them how much their kindness means to the children.“It was sobering,” Loewen said.Their work included providing a special meal of lentils and rice to children, some of whom walked 10 kilometres to have a bowl. Loewen remembers a young girl with a sibling on her hip bringing out her own plastic bowl, and through the expression in her eyes asking him to fill it so she could take it home to others unable to make the trip.“Once you got through an experience like that, your heart gets moved to do anything you can for a child’s life,” Loewen said, tearing up at the memory. “That child’s life was created in the image of God.”In 2020 , Loewen set the Guinness World Record for the longest distance biked in 30 days. This summer, he needs to find time to bike another 55 kilometres each day beyond the 387 he averaged last year, which means eliminating many interviews and maintaining his focus on the road. The other step he will take is cutting off an hour of sleep each night, so he only gets four. He said he has been gaining a bit of weight so he has some extra to lose, as he estimates he burns up to 12,000 calories a day but can take in at most 8,000. He expects to lose between 20 and 25 pounds , or about one pound per day.“I have to suffer a lot to be able to do this.” Loewen said.Loewen has been in the Guinness Book of World Records for multiple feats. In 2011 he set a new mark by biking across Canada in 13 days, six hours and 13 minutes (since broken). In 2020 he set the record for most kilometres biked in 30 days. This time his sights are set on Guus Moonen from the Netherlands, who hit 10,000 kilometres in 22 days, 15 hours and 34 minutes. Several people (including Loewen himself, in 2014) have unsuccessfully tried to top Moonen’s record.Loewen said the COVID-19 pandemic has hit Kenya hard. Many people, if they are lucky enough to have work, earn enough to feed themselves for that day and maybe another. The funds Canadians pledge to Mully Children’s Family help a lot, as they provide relief rations and other support to Kenya’s poorest communities.“Manitobans were a big part of seeing many desperate individuals through some dark days,” Loewen said.Visit https://mcfcanada.org/donate/grandpascan or https://mcfcanada.org to support Loewen and follow his progress on Facebook.Long-distance cycling dynamo Arvid Loewen wants to set another world record but, as always, he says it’s not about him - it’s for the children.

On June 28 at 5 a.m., Loewen began his quest to become the person who cycles 10,000 kilometres in the fastest time. 

As with his previous cycling efforts, all funds Loewen raises will support Mully Children’s Family, a street rescue mission in Kenya. Over the past 16 years, he has raised more than $8 million using his platform www.grandpascan.com

This time out, Loewen’s goal is to raise $300,000, which will provide 600,000 meals to children at 50 cents each.

Run, walk or bike to combat human trafficking

The valuable work of the Joy Smith Foundation continues to aid those who have fallen victim to human trafficking, while protecting people most vulnerable to the practice.Between Aug. 14 and 22 you can contribute to the foundation’s efforts by participating in Joy in Action, an event held in conjunction with the Running Room. Participants are encouraged to bike or walk five, 10, 25 or 50 kilometres while collecting pledges. You can also get creative and participate in the activity of your choice, such as roller blading, skateboarding or paddling, too.Those with Running Room accounts can go to the registration page, select the fundraising tab and click on “raise funds” to begin collecting pledges, which will be accepted until Sept. 22.Smith, who served as the MP for Kildonan-St. Paul from 2004 to 2015, said all funds raised will go to support the survivors of human trafficking and their families. The Joy Smith Foundation supplies materials for schools and community centres across the country while also educating police forces. Her ultimate goal is to establish the National Human Trafficking Education Centre.The Joy Smith Foundation has helped with more than 6,000 cases of human trafficking since its establishment. Recently she, along with Melissa Stone and Diane Redsky, made a presentation to the City of Winnipeg, urging it to shut down body rub parlours instead of going in the opposite direction by easing their licensing requirements. The requirements were not eased and will be studied for 180 days.“Our focus is to shut down body rub parlours,” Smith said, calling them a gateway for human trafficking. “It’s awful for young girls. Nobody should have to be subjected to this.”Human trafficking can happen to anyone in any community. Every day, girls, women and boys are forced into the sex trade and/or forced labour. These horrible experiences often begin with a simple conversation online or in real life.“Everybody should join to help those who cannot help themselves,” Smith said. “Every citizen can help by donating. A little money goes a long way.”The goal of Joy in Action is to raise $60,000. For more information, visit joysmithfoundation.com.

The valuable work of the Joy Smith Foundation continues to aid those who have fallen victim to human trafficking, while protecting people most vulnerable to the practice.

Between Aug. 14 and 22 you can contribute to the foundation’s efforts by participating in Joy in Action, an event held in conjunction with the Running Room. 

Participants are encouraged to bike or walk five, 10, 25 or 50 kilometres while collecting pledges. You can also get creative and participate in the activity of your choice, such as roller blading, skateboarding or paddling, too.

Breaking down language bias in computers

Collège Miles Macdonell Collegiate’s third Schulich Leader scholarship winner intends to combine his passions for language and computer science to ensure more people around the world benefit from modern technology.Jordon Hong will enter the University of Manitoba’s faculty of science this fall, armed with an $80,000 scholarship to study in the department of computer science. He specifically wants to study artificial intelligence (AI) as it can be applied to language.His timing is excellent because AI is changing society. One sub-category of the field is natural language processing, which is concerned with programming computers to process and analyze large amounts of natural language data. Most systems are trained in either English or one of the few other dominant economic languages, Hong explained, and that can introduce bias into how the systems are originally programmed. Should that bias be present in the early stages of programming, the systems get really good at spreading that bias.Hong said his interest in computer science began in middle school and he began taking courses in Grade 10. At the same time he also developed a deep interest in languages through podcasts. Following the advice to pursue something you both love and are good at, he discovered natural language processing.“That’s perfect for me,” Hong said. “It’s what I like and what I am good at.”AI can also be used to preserve languages which are fading into history and help record the many languages which do not have a written component, he added.“It’s really exciting how we can use tech as a way of preserving cultural history that comes with language,” Hong said.Hong said the application process for the scholarship began last December when he submitted an essay at school and then met with a teacher committee for an interview. After he became the school’s nominee Hong went through many of the same steps yet again.When the May 18 deadline for announcing the winners came and went, Hong thought the opportunity had passed him by, but he received an email a week later that he didn’t know how to take.“At first I was a little sceptical so I looked up the person’s name just to make sure it wasn’t some very elaborate email scam,” Hong said with a laugh. “Eventually I figured out this person was legit and I called them up… It was a relief  and very exciting to get the award.”Hong first told his mother, who quickly spread the good news. His father came home from work to celebrate with them.“They do so much for me and sacrifice a lot,” Hong said of his parents. “I’m incredibly grateful for them and everything they do. I’d really like to thank my teachers. I don’t know if anybody will ever find teachers who care more about what they teach and the students they teach than the ones at my school. “I can’t imagine what school would be like if I didn’t have the international baccalaureate program. It really did prepare me and helped me develop a lot of skills. It helped make me as good of a student as I am today.”Hong will begin studying computer science with two good friends who have taken every computer science class with him.“Charelle Constantino and Jaden Jenson…I’d like to thank them for sticking with me,” Hong said. 

Collège Miles Macdonell Collegiate’s third Schulich Leader scholarship winner intends to combine his passions for language and computer science to ensure more people around the world benefit from modern technology.

Jordon Hong will enter the University of Manitoba’s faculty of science this fall, armed with an $80,000 scholarship to study in the department of computer science. He specifically wants to study artificial intelligence (AI) as it can be applied to language.

His timing is excellent because AI is changing society. One sub-category of the field is natural language processing, which is concerned with programming computers to process and analyze large amounts of natural language data. Most systems are trained in either English or one of the few other dominant economic languages, Hong explained, and that can introduce bias into how the systems are originally programmed. Should that bias be present in the early stages of programming, the systems get really good at spreading that bias.

Memorialized in music

River East music program records tribute to Josh ChornickBy TONY ZERUCHASPECIAL TO CANSTAREAST ST. PAULRIVER EASTJosh Chornick lived his life with passion and nowhere was that more evident than in his music. Now music is giving back by helping a community honour a life cut tragically short.Chornick died June 28, 2019 while hiking the Mantario Trail. Although he was just 18 his impact across many fields was significant. At the top of that list was music, and River East Collegiate’s music program has honoured Chornick with an electro-acoustic work to celebrate his life and spirit.Cried Ourselves a Hurricane is currently in the final mixing and mastering process but when it is finally played, there won’t be a dry eye in the house. Jeff Kula, senior instrumental director at River East said the seven-minute song features the contributions of 30 members of the school’s wind ensemble and chamber choir, including Josh’s brother Nathan.Thanks to modern technology, it stars Josh himself, as the Chornick family found recordings on his phone after his death. Josh sings and speaks on the track.“In the winter, the family of Josh Chornick contacted me, indicating it was time Josh ‘gave back’ to the REC music program through a donation of funds to be used to enhance our programming,” Kula said. “Josh was very involved in the music program as both an instrumentalist and vocalist. He was involved in the REC concert band, wind ensemble, contemporary music ensemble, concert choir and chamber choir programs.”Music plays an important role in the Chornick family. More than just words or background noise, it helped Josh learn who he was.“Music always spoke for him,” his brother Nathan said. “It was a way of expressing his feelings.”Deborah Chornick often shared music with her oldest son. It was a safe way to talk about anxieties and life’s troubles.“Since everything that has happened with Josh, music means even more to us,” father Chris Chornick added. “The words… forcing us to listen to the music and relax. It’s probably helped us out a lot the last two years also.”Kula saw the power of music within Josh and let him flourish through solos, collaborations, singing and playing multiple instruments. He saw a gifted young man finding his voice.“Kula let him have the stage and allowed him to be what he wanted to be,” Nathan said.“Mr. Kula inspired Josh to go to a whole new level all the time,” Chris said. “(He)brought out a lot in Josh. We put Mr. Kula on a pedestal way up high for making Josh feel he could try whatever he wanted. He gave him confidence and helped him feel welcomed and respected for who he is. That’s a lot.”When the Chornicks made their donation, Kula said it was quickly decided to commission a piece to honour Josh’s memory.“It is a special project for our school and program and certainly for the family,” Kula said.Kula reached out to composer and musician Kevin Curtis to develop a song. Curtis spoke to the Chornicks to learn more about Josh as a musician and person. He asked about his favourite artists and began to develop a vision.Curtis also looked to a video found only after Josh’s passing. In it, Josh can be seen singing Earth. by the band Sleeping at Last. Surreptitiously recorded in an old homestead Josh snuck into, its words resonate:Fault lines tremble underneath my glass houseBut I put it out of my mindLong enough to call it courageTo live without a lifelineI bend the definitionOf faith to exonerate my blind eyeTill the sirens sound, I’m safeThere was an earthquakeThere was an avalanche of changeWe were so afraidWe cried ourselves a hurricane.For a song to touch Josh so deeply, its meaning had to affect him, his family said. He was so moved by several Sleeping at Last songs he reached out to songwriter Ryan O’Neal to learn what inspired the lyrics. O’ Neal replied and also contacted the Chornicks the day of Josh’s celebration of life.“Sleeping at Last was definitely a big one,” Deborah said. “He and I used it to talk to each other about how he’s feeling, how I’m feeling, understanding the world.”“He really focused on the words,” Chris said. “There’s music I liked the beat of but he didn’t like the words. If he didn’t like the words, forget about what it sounded like.”Because River East’s musicians could not meet in person owing pandemic restrictions, they prepared to play their specific parts on their own for the master recording, Kula said. They were supplied with USB microphones to record at home.“It was a massive undertaking,” Kula said.Creating Cried Ourselves a Hurricane was emotional for all involved but none moreso than Nathan, who plays trumpet on the recording.“They took Josh’s voice from video which was very hard,” Nathan admitted. “It was hard to hear it the first time but once I heard it I was like ‘Man I really want to be a part of this’.“It talks about houses shattering and us falling apart. Our whole world did and that’s what happened. I think Kevin did an amazing job figuring out the piece and capturing Josh in it and at the same time telling the story of our experience. I don’t think Kula could have picked a better person to write something like that. It takes you along every emotion that’s on the way. I think he knocked it out of the park.”Curtis said that learning about Josh led to a contemplation of life and death. He believes our lives have influence long after we’re gone.“Where do we go when we die?” Curtis asked. “On some level, the air we breathe, the wind that rustles in the forest, or brings on a hurricane, must still reverberate, on some level, with the voices of those who have been here on Earth before. Music is just one way in which we give structure to vibrations. We perceive patterns where there’s chaos, and our loved ones resonate inside of us, even when they’re not there, as do our memories.”Through improvisation, Curtis began seeing a storm coming, slowly growing in intensity, then subsiding before finally leaving a sense of calm in its wake. Through filtering, he blended frequencies into a chord that sounds like voices in the wind, he said. He also added nature sounds and 18 chimes, one for each of Josh’s years.The Chornicks have yet to hear the final version, but they are confident Cried Ourselves a Hurricane will be a fitting tribute for a man who changed the world everywhere he went. Beyond music, Josh was winner of the Governor-General’s award at River East, he was a black belt in taekwondo and an avid hiker. He was a friend to many online.Although he spent just one year in the faculty of engineering at the University of Manitoba, Josh touched many lives there, too. He was selected to run student orientations, was already on student council, and hoped to become senior stick . The faculty planted a tree in his honour and held a gathering on the anniversary of his death.“Josh was absolutely a superstar amongst superstars,” Vona Guiler and Phil Veldhuis wrote in an online tribute. “He was going to change the world indeed. Phil taught him critical thinking at U of M this past winter and Josh left a deep and lasting impression on him as a student, a thinker and a person.”When it is time to listen to the finished recording, Deborah, Chris and Nathan say they will gather in the family sun room Josh helped complete that last spring.“The home’s a safe place,” Deborah said. “We’ll listen to it at home where it’s OK to feel anything we need to feel.”Then it will be time to share the piece with the many people who loved Josh. That will take place near the Chornick family home in East St. Paul, at a bench the municipality installed in his honour. It includes rocks, plants and a plaque.On that day it will likely grow quiet as those gathered reflect on Curtis’ words:Meditating on the noiseMeditating…Move deeper into the noise…There was an earthquakeThere was an avalanche of changeWe were so afraidWe cried ourselves a hurricane.

Josh Chornick lived his life with passion and nowhere was that more evident than in his music. Now music is giving back by helping a community honour a life cut tragically short.

Chornick died June 28, 2019 while hiking the Mantario Trail. Although he was just 18 his impact across many fields was significant. At the top of that list was music, and River East Collegiate’s music program has honoured Chornick with an electro-acoustic work to celebrate his life and spirit.

Cried Ourselves a Hurricane is currently in the final mixing and mastering process but when it is finally played, there won’t be a dry eye in the house. 

Rifles load up with Crusaders

Winnipeg Rifles head coach Geordie Wilson went to a familiar source as he restocked his team’s roster for the upcoming season.

The Canadian Junior Football League franchise has signed three members of the St. Paul’s Crusaders to its roster for the upcoming season. Linebackers Tristain Dainard and Logan Griffiths along with quarterback Lucas Van Norman will make the jump to junior ball this season.

The two defenders have the toughness Wilson demands of his linebacking corps.

“Griffiths is a feisty player who is a nice athlete we are excited to work with,” Wilson said.

East St. Paul Farmers Market open for business

Now through Sept. 26 you can visit the East St. Paul Farmers Market at 302 Hoddinott Rd. every Sunday, where 32 vendors will set up shop. The hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Based on the vendors June 13, you can pick up everything you need for a nice meal at home, all the way from appetizers to dessert to beverages.

If you’re looking for something easy, visit the Fat Iguana Chef’s Kitchen. Founded by Red Seal chef Steve Hunt-Lesage, Fat Iguana offers cafe-style, pre-packaged meals with fresh ingredients and a technique which brings out the foods’ natural flavours. Look for its new jalapeno blueberry and Himalayan black truffle and red jalapeno hot sauces. Fat Iguana is scheduled to be at the market July 18 and 25, Aug. 22 and 29, and Sept. 26

Those wanting to cook from scratch will be able to choose plenty of organic vegetables, including a lengthy list from local producers Hnatiuk Gardens. Combine them with some healthy options from Low Carb Mama and dessert from Papa’s Bake House. Cool off with something cold and sweet from Fete Ice Cream and Coffee.

Football players eager to start junior careers

Geordie Wilson’s off-season shopping trip included a long stop in Northeast Winnipeg.

The Winnipeg Rifles head coach announced a long list of signings of players from area schools, beginning with a trio of Miles Macdonell Buckeyes - quarterback Matthew Graham, defensive back Anthony Johnson and defensive lineman Ulrich Mbakop.

Graham said the long, pandemic-induced layoff from playing was hard to take but he now knows he will soon be enjoying the sport he loves.

“I have just been trying to keep in shape with the weights I have, and I actually built my own squat rack to help with the workouts,” Graham said. “I think the biggest challenges would most likely be shaking off the rust of the last two years. It’s also at a higher level than high school so the tempo would take some time to get used to.”

Elmwood High plans fitting grad farewell

Despite all of the added work of remoteteaching during a pandemic, staff at Elmwood High School are determined to give their graduating students a memorable sendoff, said Fran Davies, the school’s head of student services.

A drive-through graduation ceremony is planned for June 25 that’s been in the works since February. Planning it has taken plenty of work and, since restrictions have changed several times in recent months, everything was written in pencil.

“We’re cognizant of the fact things might change,” Davies said. “We’re trying to plan a very organized and individualized grad. We want to plan something as interesting as possible which we can loosen (should restrictions relax) later if we need to.”

In 2020, each of the school’s graduates came through the school with 10 people. Several unique stations were set up for them and graduates got to go on stage by themselves, even being announced by their favourite teachers.

Every child matters

The recent discovery of the remains of 215 children at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School shocked and saddened many, including students at Murdoch MacKay Collegiate.

Those Transcona high school students wanted to talk about the tragic discovery and its meaning because they feel that it is the only way we can grow as people and a nation.

That was the sentiment behind a recent art installation at the Transcona high school, teacher Kim Dudek said. The students recently installed 215 stylized orange Ms on orange posts at the school, one for each child in Kamloops.

“(English teacher) Robyn Grehan reached out and said ‘we need to acknowledge this in some fashion’,” Dudek said.

Mural to be covered by Aug. 1

The new tenants of the former TD Canada Trust building at 200 Regent Ave. West want to give the public plenty of notice before they have to remove a mural on the building’s exterior.

The decision was a tough one but dictated by the scope of the work needed to get the building’s insulation up to a sufficient level, said a representative of the Operating Engineers of Manitoba Local 987.

The mural, which depicts two children watching a train, was painted in 1991 by artist Dan Sawatsky. Sponsored by the Transcona BIZ, it is on the east-facing wall.

The engineers’ uniotn should be moved in by late June, said business manager Marc Lafond.

Legions can’t wait for restrictions to ease

Royal Canadian Legion executive members in northeast Winnipeg can’t wait to resume their popular community activities.

“We’re still shut down, there’s no activity at all,” said Henderson Legion president Gord Machej.

The Henderson Legion has been closed for several months, and Machej said the executive is looking forward to seeing how quickly the provincial government’s reopening plan will progress.

This progress, and the resultant easing of restrictions, will dictate how many tables and chairs Legions can have, which in turn will determine what types of events they can hold.

Bakery owners celebrate successful first year

The past year has gone by in a flash but it has brought plenty of highlights for the owners of White Birch Bakery as it nears its first anniversary. Kristina Majowski and Shannon MacTavish thank everyone for their support.

The official one-year mark is June 30, and they will be marking the occasion. While plans are still in the works, they will include several bakery specials along with a draw for a photograph by a local artist.

If you’ve been to White Birch Bakery, at B-1108 Henderson Hwy., you’ll see several pieces of art on the walls. That is part of Majowski’s and MacTavish’s plan to create a community-oriented atmosphere. From the moment you walk in you’re in a bright space with plenty of sunlight and nice decor. The walls are decorated with photographs, paintings and sketches by local artists.

All are for sale, and it’s one way they want to help others in the community.While opening in a pandemic has brought various delays, along with ever-changing restrictions, the year has been a positive one, mostly because of the people Majowski and MacTavish have

Seniors organizations keep in touch with clients

While the most recent government restrictions have stopped their ability to host in-person gatherings, seniors centres in northeast Winnipeg are still doing everything they can to provide essential services to older adults.

The Elmwood East Kildonan Active Living Centre has cancelled all programs until June 14 due to Manitoba Public Health orders. Services could resume after that date, either completely or in a limited fashion, so members are advised to check the centre’s Facebook pages for updates.

Located at 180 Poplar Ave., the centre is only open for by appointment to those accessing essential services. These include curbside pickup of frozen meals, an emergency pantry, the BAG program, emergency transportation and emergency assistance funding. Wellness check-ins are being conducted by telephone.

The Transcona Council for Seniors is fortunate to still be able to offer some programs, said resource co-ordinator Colleen Tackaberry. Meals are available by takeout and delivery only. For more information, call 204-222-9879. The monthly menu is available at transconaseniors.ca under “community programs”.

Schools plan for alternate grad ceremonies

Changing public health guidelines have forced high schools across Winnipeg to scramble to give their graduating students a proper sendoff later this month, amid the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Schools have been ordered to remain in remote-learning mode through the end of the school year, which means all graduation plans are in pencil and not ink.

In the case of Calvin Christian School it Transcona, it means having a Plan D in place in case it’s needed, principal Shannon Smith said.In 2020, Calvin Christian worked with a studio in Elmwood to record videos of each graduate.

They were completed just before enhanced restrictions went into effect. The project involved a high degree of preparation to keep people safe, including only allowing household members in the parking lot and booking each session with time in between to avoid crowding.

Golf courses adapt to another ‘new normal’

Golfers teeing off at courses in northeast Winnipeg will notice some changes as their host clubs get to grips with government mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a letter posted on the course website, Harbourview Golf Course PGA golf professional Michel Pilon said that due to extended public health orders golfers will only be allowed to play with members of their own households through June 11. Only those paying green fees will be allowed on the course and golfers must provide proof of address when checking in to prove they live at the same address. No walk-on players will be allowed

It is much the same over at Rossmere Country Club, said general manager Scott Parker. The popular course at 925 Watt St. offers 12 tee times per hour, with at most two golfers from the same address allowed at one time. The restrictions loosen after 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays when up to four people from the same home can hit the links together.

“We have about 600 members and 120 to 165 might golf in a day,” Parker said. “It’s pretty tough to operate and everyone’s patient, but it’s not something to go on forever.”Transcona Golf Club pro Steve Witiuk said only members from the same address can golf together at any one time.

Matt Jonsson Memorial Skatepark closer to becoming reality

The Matt Jonsson Memorial Skatepark is closer to becoming a reality after the Assiniboia community committee approved a name change request May 3. It now awaits approval from Welcoming Winnipeg.

If granted, it would see Skatepark West, located at Sturgeon Road and Silver Avenue, renamed after a young man who played an integral role in the park’s history. Jonsson passed away Feb. 20 following a tragic accident. He was 24 years old.

Jonsson’s mother Tish said BMX riding was Matt’s first love. Fifteen years ago, Golden Gate Middle School principal Connie Newman began efforts to build a skatepark in the community.

Nine-year-old Matt and Cole joined the design committee.

New app will filter social media for you

If you haven’t seen The Social Dilemma on Netflix, I highly recommend it if you have ever wondered about how social media use affects all of us. Its influence is especially chilling on younger people who have been around it for their entire lives and do not know an alternative.I recently spoke to an entrepreneur who’s trying to do something about it. Jerry Chien is the cofounder and CEO of Gravvity, an app which allows users to filter what information they see. It works alongside your social media to provide you with only the information you actually want.Chien said the average person has eight social media apps and spends hours each day scrolling through their feeds because they fear missing out on something important (the kids call it FOMO). Much of that time is spent scanning past information you don’t care about, or older information an algorithm has determined you might like. The entire process is designed to keep you on the site for longer so those platforms can charge advertisers higher fees.“It’s all designed to pull people back to their app, spend more time on their apps and to ultimately change their behaviour in a way that gives the company the best opportunity to monetize it,” Chien said. “On the surface it just looks like a really cool thing but it’s been designed to perpetuate that feeling of I’m missing something, I’m anxious about something, I need to be on this site to know how people are feeling and how I should feel.”Gravvity funnels all of your feeds into one, and lets you select those people whose content you actually want to read, whether they are your relatives, kids, or Chrissy Teigen. When one of those folks makes a post, you receive a notification. You can even privately reply to that person. The feed is organized chronologically so you don’t have to scroll past information you’ve already either read or dismissed to get to items you value. If you last checked your feed at 3 p.m., you can scroll back to 3 p.m. and you won’t miss anything.“It cleans up all the clutter and your need to be endlessly on your apps,” Chien told me. “It gets rid of FOMO from certain social media experiences.”One of Chien’s partners in Gravvity worked for several social media companies and confirmed the assertions that these programs are purposefully designed to get people addicted. I have interviewed many former employees of Facebook and Twitter who have said the same thing. Chien said more than 200 million people have been diagnosed with social media addiction. How many more actually are? How many are addicted to their phones?Gravvity is about to launch. Learn more at gravvity.ai  Tony Zerucha is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email him at tzerucha@gmail.com

If you haven’t seen The Social Dilemma on Netflix, I highly recommend it if you have ever wondered about how social media use affects all of us. Its influence is especially chilling on younger people who have been around it for their entire lives and do not know an alternative.

I recently spoke to an entrepreneur who’s trying to do something about it. Jerry Chien is the cofounder and CEO of Gravvity, an app which allows users to filter what information they see. It works alongside your social media to provide you with only the information you actually want.

Chien said the average person has eight social media apps and spends hours each day scrolling through their feeds because they fear missing out on something important (the kids call it FOMO). Much of that time is spent scanning past information you don’t care about, or older information an algorithm has determined you might like. The entire process is designed to keep you on the site for longer so those platforms can charge advertisers higher fees.

Last whistle for Assiniboine Valley Railway?

A beloved Winnipeg institution needs the community’s help to keep rolling.

The Assiniboine Valley Railway has been told by the owners of the land it sits on that it must vacate its current location at 3001 Roblin Blvd. within the next six months, president Len La Rue said.

The popular attraction was founded by the late Bill Taylor on property he owned near Assiniboine Park in 1995, and it took plenty of work to build the one-eighth scale working mini-railroad, La Rue admitted.

A group had to survey the land while Taylor ordered locomotives and cars from Oklahoma. The remainder of 1995 and much of 1996 were spent laying track before the official grand opening was held Sept. 13, 1997, when Manitoba Lt.-Gov. Yvon Dumont was among those to hammer in the last golden spikes.

Consultation has not been meaningful, residents say

Not everybody is convinced increased active transportation measures are a good idea for Wolseley, but all sides agree that more public consultation should be done on the issue.

The City of Winnipeg is currently designing the Wolseley to Downtown Walk Bike Project to improve travel choices, accessibility and connectivity in the area.

The areas affected by project include Wolseley Avenue, Westminster Avenue, Balmoral Street and Granite Way.

According to the current plan, the interconnected section of Balmoral Street, Young Street and Westminster Avenue between Langside Street and Granite Way will see dedicated 1.8-metre bike lanes on both sides protected by adjustable curbs along with two 3.3-metre-wide traffic lanes.

If you build it, they will come…

A dedicated board, six community clubs and an all-star roster of corporate sponsors are all contributing to the success of the St. James Assiniboia Minor Baseball Association, which is looking forward to the upcoming season.

The organization oversees the game for players between the ages of four and 21 in St. James and Headingley and it was put to the test in 2020, when, even during the pandemic, it was able to have a season, president Jeff Turnbull said.

Due to the late start of play, however, 2020 registrations were down from their normal levels but they have begun to recover this year, with numbers up 100 from 2020 as of last week.Turnball said organizers work hard to provide players with a great experience. They offer skills programs and free drop-in clinics in school gyms during the winter and they are diligently working on Optimist Park, which is the focal point of baseball in the area.

“We’re trying to grow the game again and expanding the park is a big part of that,” Turnbull said.

100 years of Red River swinging

Winnipeg’s oldest municipal golf course is celebrating 100 years of good walks spoiled this year and everyone is invited to join in the party.

Kildonan Park Golf Course opened for the first time on June 9, 1921 and was the first recreational service offered by the City of Winnipeg. The official grand opening was held July 28, 1921, when Winnipeg’s city councillors were among those to play a round.

“We’re very excited about this year,” said Dave Comaskey, City of Winnipeg golf services operations co-ordinator.

Golf along the Red River quickly proved to be a hit. In 1921, the pro shop was kept busy as it rented out 55,000 sets of clubs. That reception led to the opening of Windsor Park Golf Course in 1925.

Main Street Slice serves up goodness with style

Whether you’re looking for a quick slice as a snack or need to bring home dinner for the entire family, Main Street Slice has you covered.

Recently opened at 3513 Main St., Main Street Slice offers a variety of interesting pizza combinations, available by either the slice or whole pie, co-owner Jesse Arcon said.

Plenty of thought has gone into every ingredient, beginning with the crust, which comes in a few different types, including New York Style, which is a 16-inch, thin but crispy version.

“We double-fire it so the slices are all nice and crispy, nice and fresh too,” Arcon said.

Great Winnipeg Bear Hunt returns for seconds

Sheilah Lee Restall knows how tough the last year has been on everyone, including parents and young children, so she came up with a plan to make it a little more ‘bearable.’

For the second consecutive year, Restall is organizing the Great Winnipeg Bear Hunt, which promises to spice up those neighbourhood walks, she said. All it takes to participate is placing a stuffed bear in your window and letting Restall know so she can add you to her map.

Restall said she remembers reading an article last year about another community that did something similar, so she decided to try it out in Garden City. The mother of children aged two and four was looking for a way to inject some excitement into her walks with the little ones.

“When you’re a parent of young kids in a pandemic, all you can do is go on walks,” Restall said. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful for them to have something to look forward to on the walks?”

90 years of good works for Goodwill

Plenty has changed over the past 90 years but one constant has been Canadian Goodwill Industries’ service to Winnipeggers in need.

The locally based organization celebrates its 90th birthday on April 4.

General manager Charlotte McTavish said Canadian Goodwill Industries began in 1931 as the idea of Rev. J. Richmond Craig at Grace United Church who held a garage sale to raise funds for people in need. The idea quickly grew, with people continuing to donate clothing and household items to help the cause.

What distinguished Canadian Goodwill Industries even then was that, when people came for help, the reverend put them to work selling the items and paid them to do it so they could have a constant source of income.

Super Lube honours our health care heroes

Management and staff at Winnipeg’s five Super Auto Centres are so appreciative of the efforts of Winnipeg’s health-care workers that they’re giving them free car maintenance — again.

From April 3 to 10, all health care workers who arrive at any Super Auto Centre or Super Lube location will receive free oil, filter and lube service along with a tire rotation.

This will be the second time Super Lube has offered the service during the COVID-19 pandemic and it wants to provide more oil changes than when it first offered the program in May 2020.

“Last year, we served 4,018 health-care workers, but this time our goal is 5,000,” said Jonnie Hendrickson, Super Lube president.

Petrusia Perogy promotes Ukrainian education

Registration is now open for the fall session of English-Ukrainian bilingual program education in schools across Winnipeg. Schools offering the kindergarten program in Winnipeg include R.F. Morrison School in the Seven Oaks School Division, Prince Edward School in River-East Transcona and Ralph Brown School in the Winnipeg School Division.  years education is offered at H.C. Avery Middle School in the Seven Oaks School Division and Chief Peguis Junior High School on Rothesay St.In normal times, schools would hold open houses at which parents and children could tour the school, meet teachers and ask questions but, with the pandemic making that difficult, Manitoba Parents for Ukrainian Education turned to Petrusia Perogy. The popular mascot recently toured Prince Edward School and recorded her experience in a YouTube video which can be found by visiting YouTube and searching “Petrusia Perogy.”Children in the EUBP program receive up to half of their instruction in Ukrainian, delivered by teachers who are fluent in both languages. The many additional benefits of bilingual instruction include getting to attend cultural activities and meeting fellow Ukrainian speakers from across Manitoba. Research shows learning a second language improves listening skills, cognitive abilities, and even the student’s ability to communicate in their first language. They also develop empathy for and interest in other cultures. Students also begin to learn French in Grade 4.The program is also supported by Manitoba Parents for Ukrainian Education, a dedicated group of parents that works hard to ensure the children have memorable experiences. They organize various cultural events and try to get the kids from the Winnipeg schools together with their counterparts from Oakbank, Selkirk and Dauphin.When students graduated last spring, MPUE organized a caravan which stopped by each graduate’s home so they could celebrate their achievement.Manitoba Parents for Ukrainian Education also have bilingual COVID-19 safety posters available for download on their website. Visit the MPUE website at mpue.ca, phone 204-942-5405 or email mpueinc@mpue.ca for more information  Tony Zerucha is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email him at tzerucha@gmail.com 

Registration is now open for the fall session of English-Ukrainian bilingual program education in schools across Winnipeg. 

Schools offering the kindergarten program in Winnipeg include R.F. Morrison School in the Seven Oaks School Division, Prince Edward School in River-East Transcona and Ralph Brown School in the Winnipeg School Division. 

Headed for bigger things

Hard work and a desire to succeed has earned Nicole Black a spot on the University of Calgary Dinos women’s hockey team next season.Black, a one-time River East Collegiate student now playing for the St. Mary’s Academy Flames prep team, said the Dinos were her first choice and she cannot wait to play for head coach Danielle Goyette.Her on-ice story begins at the age of five, when Black began playing ringette. After a few years she switched to hockey, which she admits to not liking at first. Black stuck with it, however, and she’s glad she did. After four years at the Northeast Predators AA program, Black enrolled at St. Mary’s, a move which helped her both on and off the ice.“It built my hockey skills tremendously but also my time management, work ethic, and school work,” Black said.The Flames have a busy travel schedule that takes them across Canada, so you have to make good use of your time, Black said. You study on the road and on breaks at home. There’s no time to waste.“It’s an intense school program and pretty hard,” Black said. “It definitely taught me to have great time management and the teachers are supportive.”Black said that discipline will help her in whichever career path she chooses. She will start studying the sciences with an eye towards dentistry or medicine.It will also help her on the ice, where she has developed into a strong, defence-first blueliner who, at six feet tall has learned to use her height to her advantage.“I play a pretty aggressive game,” said Black, whose father Sean was a star volleyball player for the Miles Macdonell Buckeyes, said. “I like to make good defensive plays.”Black said she looks forward to playing for Goyette because she likes her defence pairs to get involved in the play. That’s what Black has been focusing on this winter.Of course, she has had more time to do that because the pandemic forced the cancellation of her final Flames season after three games. Luckily, she has a home gym and her dad built her an outdoor rink in the backyard so she can work on her skills.Black said she is also happy to see the women’s game grow across Canada, adding young girls have so many more opportunities to play than she had starting out. She credited Hayley Wickenheiser, who showed you could be both a great hockey player and have a successful career (she is training to be an emergency physician) for being a role model for young women.Black thanked many of her coaches for helping her get this opportunity, including Rick Farmer of the Manitoba Hurricanes and St. Mary’s coaches Larry Bumstead and Rob Friesen.“They have never given up on a single player,” Black said of the St. Mary’s staff. “They are hard on them but they are our biggest supporters.”Tony Zerucha is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email him at tzerucha@gmail.com

Hard work and a desire to succeed has earned Nicole Black a spot on the University of Calgary Dinos women’s hockey team next season.

Black, a one-time River East Collegiate student now playing for the St. Mary’s Academy Flames prep team, said the Dinos were her first choice and she cannot wait to play for head coach Danielle Goyette.

Her on-ice story begins at the age of five, when Black began playing ringette. After a few years she switched to hockey, which she admits to not liking at first. Black stuck with it, however, and she’s glad she did. After four years at the Northeast Predators AA program, Black enrolled at St. Mary’s, a move which helped her both on and off the ice.

St. Alphonsus School celebrates centennial

While celebrating their centennial during a pandemic wasn’t the way they drew it up, the students, staff and alumni of St. Alphonsus School will still be celebrating the occasion throughout 2021, principal Christine McInnis said.The nursery through Grade 8 school at 343 Munroe Ave. officially marked the occasion Jan. 10. Further celebrations will occur at a virtual gala event and hopefully a fireworks show later in the year. Should restrictions lift and the authorities deem it safe, additional activities could occur.St. Alphonsus began as a Catholic school for the children of parishioners, McInnis explained. Over the years the student body has expanded to include students from other Christian denominations as well as children from Sikh, Hindu and Muslim faiths, their families attracted by a strong and supportive environment.“It’s like a small town. Everyone knows everyone else in the community,” McInnis said. “Everyone is known and loved in this community. The idea is we are all working together for the good of the children.”St. Alphonsus began in a small building at the corner of Munroe Avenue and Brazier Street before moving to its current location in the 1950s, McInnis said. Changes have come, with the biggest being a gymnasium which was built in 1990 and paid for by parents who secured a loan and had it constructed.McInnis has worked at St. Alphonsus for close to 20 years, beginning as a teacher before becoming principal a few years back. One of her favourite aspects of life at St. Alphonsus is seeing the children and grandchildren of alumni also enrol at the school. While many of the students are from Elmwood, others travel from across northeast Winnipeg and beyond to study every day.In preparing for the centennial celebrations, McInnis discovered many pieces of nostalgia in the school’s archives, including a quilt made to celebrate Manitoba’s 125th birthday in 1995. It includes the handprints of every student at the time. A quarter-century later some of those students’ children also attend St. Alphonsus.Regardless of what St. Alphonsus School’s centennial year holds, there will be plenty of opportunities to share memories, McInnis said. Former staff and alumni are invited to share their stories, photographs and memorabilia by emailing 100th@stals.ca. They can also visit stalphonsusschool.ca to view a virtual yearbook.  Tony Zerucha is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email him at tzerucha@gmail.com

While celebrating their centennial during a pandemic wasn’t the way they drew it up, the students, staff and alumni of St. Alphonsus School will still be celebrating the occasion throughout 2021, principal Christine McInnis said.

The nursery through Grade 8 school at 343 Munroe Ave. officially marked the occasion Jan. 10. Further celebrations will occur at a virtual gala event and hopefully a fireworks show later in the year. Should restrictions lift and the authorities deem it safe, additional activities could occur.

St. Alphonsus began as a Catholic school for the children of parishioners, McInnis explained. Over the years the student body has expanded to include students from other Christian denominations as well as children from Sikh, Hindu and Muslim faiths, their families attracted by a strong and supportive environment.

Community clubs in holding patterns

Those running West Winnipeg’s community centres vow to be ready to serve their areas when pandemic restrictions are lifted they admit that 2020 hasn’t been easy.

Joel Fingard’s first few weeks in his new job have truly been a baptism by fire. Fingard is general manager at R. A. Steen Community Centre, a job he only started this fall, after the retirement of  longtime GM Steven Bemrose.

Fingard said staff were always considering what was allowed to occur under health orders.

“Space and safety were ongoing considerations,” Fingard explained. “Some activities do not lend well to physical distancing and size of gatherings, so programs like basketball were not allowed. However other sports such as tennis could occur.”

Shrugging Doctor has cure for seasonal blues

While the COVID-19 pandemic may make it a little harder to feel merry this holiday season, the Shrugging Doctor Beverage Company may just have a cure.

Located at 448B Brooklyn St., Winnipeg’s only winery and cidery has had a tough year, owner Willows Christopher admitted. The code red lockdown has forced the closure of Shrugging Doctor’s wine bar and more people are staying home and not shopping as they normally would.

That latter fact gave Christopher and his partners an idea, however.

“People are in their homes and not wanting to go out, but we thought we could still serve them and give them good service,” Christopher said.

Japan Karate Association returns to old home

The Japan Karate Association is returning to its old home in west Winnipeg, just in time for what it hopes will be a busy fall season.

Registration is now open for a range of classes at the St. James Centennial Fitness Centre, located at 644 Parkdale St.

Sensei Joel Crisp said JKA’s Winnipeg West Karate originally opened in 2004 and held classes at the Parkdale Street location through 2012 before moving to Sturgeon Heights.

This year’s move also marks a homecoming for Crisp, who took a hiatus from teaching in 2016 before returning early this year. However, after just a few weeks of classes, Winnipeg West Karate had to shut down, as the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of community spaces.“We didn’t have any options,” Crisp said.

Nothing replaces hard work for young entrepreneur

By following some simple rules and working hard, Ravi Dhaliwal has become a success in the challenging restaurant industry.

Dhaliwal is the co-owner of Cora Breakfast and Lunch at Polo Park, where his recipe for success includes a good idea, good work ethic and good people.

Earlier in his career, Dhaliwal worked in retail, at movie theatres, on garbage trucks and in restaurants. Then his mother asked him if he wanted to start a business.

Dhaliwal said he owes much to his mother, who spent her early childhood in a hut in India before moving to Canada when she was 10. While raising him, she worked at a bank.

Meet ‘the Hobbit of Victor Street’

Hardy Groening’s neighbours are used to seeing unique projects in his yard but he’s outdone himself this time.

The Victor Street resident, a self-described “huge Lord of the Rings fan,” turned his front deck and door into a Hobbit Deck in honour of the beloved books written by J. R. R. Tolkien. Originally written as a sequel to Tolkien’s book The Hobbit, the story of the lands of Middle-earth has sold more than 150 million copies.

Groening first read the book when he was 12 and loved it.

“I’ve read it probably a dozen times,” Groening admitted. “The movies … I was pleasantly surprised that they almost matched my imagination.”

A 25-year musical odyssey

Sam Trachilis is a West End boy who made good.

The owner of Quest Musique is now celebrating 25 years in business. What began in a room of his Banning Street home has become a two-store operation that employs 20 people at 150-166 Meadowood Dr. and 1308 Portage Ave.

Trachilis said music has always been a part of his life. He began playing trumpet in Grade 5 at John M. King School and continued through high school at Daniel McIntyre Collegiate.“Winnipeg School Division had a great music program,” he said.

One day Trachilis dropped his trumpet when walking home. He took it to a local shop for repairs and saw people making a living in music.

Rifles players lament lost season

Normally at their busiest this time of year, football fields across Canada have largely been silent this fall owing to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. That has players and coaches adjusting to a 2020 without football.

Several members of the Winnipeg Rifles junior football club hail from west Winnipeg and they say it has been difficult not being involved with the game they love.

Offensive lineman Miguel Leano, a Tec Voc alum, was preparing for his third season and said he held out hope for as long as possible that he would get to play.

“When the pandemic became worse, the thought of not having a season started to come in mind,” Leano said. “When our spring camp was cancelled, I knew that there’s less and less chance of having a season this fall.”

Harte Trail Studio Tour goes virtual this year

The Harte Trail Studio Tour has gone virtual for 2020, meaning art lovers can still enjoy the works of the many talented artists from Charleswood, Headingley and Tuxedo. From Oct. 2-16, 26 artists will have samples of their work on display on Facebook, Instagram and at hartetrailstudiotour.comOrganizer Donna Cuming said the virtual tour includes selections from and biographies of 24 artists. Anyone interested in a piece is encouraged to contact the individual artists.Cuming is an artist herself and works with a variety of media, including collages, prints and acrylic pours.“Acrylic pours — those are so much fun to do,” she said. “It’s a very, very, messy process but it’s a lot of fun. You lose yourself in it.”Lifelong Charleswood resident Greg Fritz has spent plenty of time on the Harte Trail.“I have always been surrounded by nature,” Fritz said. “I am a city boy but I always wanted to be in nature — it’s always been a part of me.”When he was 40, Fritz, who described himself as blonde-haired and blue-eyed, said he learned of his Cree heritage when he connected with his biological mother. His already deep ties to nature strengthened further.“I had no idea,” Fritz said. “I’ve really embraced it since.”Fritz has carved soapstone for 18 years, and said he has always been influenced by northern Indigenous carvings, and names each creation in both English and Cree. He works “old school”, beginning with hacksaws and drywall saws before progressing to chisels and sandpaper. The finishing touch involves placing the work on a barbecue or in an oven for 30 minutes, a process which opens up the pores in the stone. Fritz then applies car wax and gradually wipes it off. He said it can take him 150 hours to produce a work of art.One of his featured pieces in the virtual Harte Trail tour is Covid Angel, dedicated to front-line workers who continued to serve as the pandemic progressed.“When COVID-19 first hit, we were hiding out in our homes and wondering what the future holds,” Fritz said. “I saw an angel in this piece of soapstone immediately. The angel represents how everyone else in those facilities are wearing masks and helping people.”Fritz will be joined in the virtual tour by his mother, Sandy Fritz, who works with monochromatic paintings.Terry Murray, another artist in the tour, said she has always had a creative side, which she explored through gardening and home decoration. Upon retirement she began taking classes in watercolour painting. “I always thought of myself as creative but I never thought of myself as an artist,” she said.Murray enjoys painting flowers with simple backgrounds which allow her to focus on the simple nuances and patterns in the plant. Drawing on her experience with both colours and gardening, she produces pieces ranging in size from cards to a 22-inch-by-24 -inch work commissioned by people she met in Mexico.“That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Murray admitted. “It turned out and they were really happy.”Cuming welcomes everyone to take the Harte Trail Virtual Art Tour.“It’s spreading the word. Art is poetry for the eyes. People kind of lose themselves in a painting,” she said. 

The Harte Trail Studio Tour has gone virtual for 2020, meaning art lovers can still enjoy the works of the many talented artists from Charleswood, Headingley and Tuxedo. From Oct. 2-16, 26 artists will have samples of their work on display on Facebook, Instagram and at hartetrailstudiotour.com

Organizer Donna Cuming said the virtual tour includes selections from and biographies of 24 artists. Anyone interested in a piece is encouraged to contact the individual artists.

Golf business rebounds at Transcona CC

After a scary start, the 2020 golf season at Transcona Country Club is going strong.Like everyone in the industry, TCC golf director Steve Witiuk began closely watching news of the pandemic early in 2020.“We were very scared at the beginning because we didn’t know if the golf season would open or when it was going to open,” Witiuk said.Many members also took a wait-and-see approach before paying their annual dues, but they have since returned.“The feedback’s been very good,” Witiuk observed. “At first they were very scared. We have an older population here and we want them to feel very safe.”A key part of the club’s strategy was communicating the steps staff were taking to keep everyone safe, Witiuk explained. Ball washers and sand trap rakes were removed and the cups in the holes were left upside down so players could easily retrieve their balls. To space groups out more on the course, tee times were extended to one foursome every 10 minutes instead of every seven or eight.Early in the season, staff greeted golfers and explained the new rules and the steps being taken to keep everyone safe. The big winners are the area’s young players, Witiuk added. Membership levels have stayed steady, thanks to an influx of younger golfers looking for an activity they could actually do. They tried golf and they liked it.“At the beginning there was no baseball, soccer or indoor stuff,” Witiuk said. “The only thing you could really do was golf and that’s been a very good thing.”More young peoplehave also been hired at the course, as extra staff are needed for cleaning and sanitizing, Witiuk said. While larger courses with bigger catering and events businesses have qualified for federal wage subsidies, Transcona Country Club has not for most of the summer but course activity has provided the revenue to keep them employed.Things are slowly returning to normal, Witiuk said. The restaurant, which was initially limited to walk-through service, is now seeing more activity. Sand and seed boxes are back, as are the driving range and locker room. Tournament play has resumed, albeit with half the usual number of golfers and no gatherings after. Players submit their scores via email.But that could change in an instant, Witiuk warned. As the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has risen in recent weeks, the club has been forced to reduce the number of people allowed in the locker rooms from 80 to 48. A flexible approach is needed, as current conditions may stay into next season too.Considering where the year started, there is plenty to be thankful for, Witiuk said.“We’re in a great business right now,” he concluded.

After a scary start, the 2020 golf season at Transcona Country Club is going strong.

Like everyone in the industry, TCC golf director Steve Witiuk began closely watching news of the pandemic early in 2020.

“We were very scared at the beginning because we didn’t know if the golf season would open or when it was going to open,” Witiuk said.

East St. Paul to use speed display boards

Motorists on Birds Hill Road now have some electronic help to make sure they drive within legal limits.

On August 10 the Rural Municipality of East St. Paul announced it will be using speed display boards on Birds Hill Road. The move comes after the Province of Manitoba began allowing their use on provincial roadways within municipal boundaries starting June 1.

“There was a desire from many municipal leaders to have the province allow for the placement of speed boards on roads and highways that are a provincial responsibility,” East St. Paul mayor Shelley Hart said. “We’re pleased the province agreed and worked with us to make this important change, it will help keep our residents safer. We thank (Minister of Infrastructure Ron Schuler) for his work on this initiative.”

Municipalities have requested more authority over provincial roadways running through their boundaries. In 2018, delegates to the Association of Manitoba Municipalities convention passed a resolution calling for that control, a move which led to the June 1 change.

Rossmere managing well through pandemic

“We didn’t open until May 4 and for us that’s quite a bit of business that we lost,” Parker said. “But for the safety of the staff and members it’s something we had to do.”Parker said national organizations worked together to create a template to guide golf courses on how to safely reopen, with each club adapting it to their own situation. For Rossmere it meant fewer washrooms, no ball washers, benches or shower facilities.It also means a huge revenue dent from lost tournaments and hall bookings, Parker said. Management has managed to push some tournaments into later in the season, but overall he estimates losses at 50 per cent.Tournament play has resumed with a few changes, Parker said. The course can have unlimited players but gathering spots are limited to 100 people, including staff. Rossmere employs a two-shotgun start so fewer people are around before and after their rounds. Prior to tournament play each player receives lunch and a drink and there are two more food stations on the course. After the round the players gather in the outdoor food and beverage area, where they are served in their seats.There have been some pleasant surprises, Parker said, including an influx of new players. Whereas in a normal year clubs run promotions to draw players, they didn’t have to this year.“Golf was one of the first things that could open and that helped us tremendously,” Parker said. “The golf industry’s been on the decline for a few years and everyone in the industry’s been working really hard to promote the game and promote it to young people.“Hopefully after this year ,when things settle down and get back to normal, we can retain the golfers we brought to the game this year.”Rossmere has also hired more students than normal this season, Parker said, crediting federal subsidy programs. The extra help has allowed them to tackle a job jar full of tasks normally left uncompleted.Will any of the changes Rossmere has implemented become permanent?“I think the golf tournament stations where they get food and drink before they start, then they get two food stations on the course, and everything’s outside and a little more informal…I think that might stay around,” Parker said.Parker is also taking a wait-and-see approach to his long-range planning too.“You can’t take it for granted that everything’s going to be back to normal next year,” he said.Parker said overall, he’s happy with how things have turned out.“There’s an adjustment period for (members) there’s been an adjustment period for staff but I think all in all it’s been a great year.”

While it’s been a tough year, general manager Scott Parker and the staff at Rossmere Golf & Country Club are doing everything they can to provide a great experience for its members.

Last winter was a busy one, with the club’s golf simulator attracting large crowds and even a couple of tournaments, Parker said.

Then as the COVID-19 pandemic began to loom in February, staff became nervous about what was to come. Weeks later those fears were realized when Rossmere had to close for two months.

Masks to be required on school buses this fall

The River East Transcona School Division will release details of its back-to-school plan this week. However, parents, students and school staff already know that the Province of Manitoba recommends that all students in Grades 5 through 12, along with staff and others, wear non-medical masks in common areas and where physical distancing is not possible.Manitoba Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen also said on Aug. 13 that all students in Grade 5 and up, along with bus drivers, will be required to wear non-medical masks on school buses.The province released its basic guidelines for returning to classes on July 30, then followed up with a practice and protocol guide on Aug. 13. Classes are scheduled to begin Sept. 8 at all Manitoba schools.The overriding theme of both announcements is that students, staff and parents need to be prepared for what could be multiple changes, some on short notice, throughout the year.According to provincial guidelines, students in kindergarten through Grade 8 will return to school full-time, as will students with special needs in all grades. Those in grades 9-12 will only return full-time if high schools can guarantee physical distancing and the use of cohorts, which are independent groups kept separate from all other students. Those cohorts are used to minimize the risk of virus transfer and to ensure documentation for contact tracing.Schools themselves will look quite different. To maximize the effectiveness of physical distancing, alternate spaces such as multi-purpose rooms will be used for instruction so students can maintain physical distancing. When distancing is not possible, students will be assigned to cohorts. In classrooms, cohort desks will be kept one metre apart.Maintaining those cohorts will be a challenge for the division’s larger schools. In the fall of 2019 RETSD’s three largest high schools, Miles Macdonell, Kildonan East and River East, had between 1,184 and 1,245 students enrolled.Several steps have been designed to keep large groups from congregating. School entry and exit points will be managed to avoid congestion. Breaks will be staggered, and teachers will change classrooms instead of students. Few visitors will be allowed in schools. Those schools will be cleaned with greater frequency and vigour.Parents and caregivers also have roles to play. They must screen their children before allowing them to leave home each morning. If children exhibit any symptoms they should be kept home.When announcing guidelines on July 30, Goertzen said schools can access the $48 million in savings accrued during the shutdown, which averages out to $68,000 per school.Abe Araya, the president of CUPE Manitoba said much more money and resources will be required.“Schools need to hire more support staff in all areas, from bus drivers to educational assistants, from custodians and cleaners to trades, from library staff to clerical staff, from technical staff to community and language liaisons,” Abe Araya said.

The River East Transcona School Division will release details of its back-to-school plan this week. 

However, parents, students and school staff already know that the Province of Manitoba recommends that all students in Grades 5 through 12, along with staff and others, wear non-medical masks in common areas and where physical distancing is not possible.

Manitoba Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen also said on Aug. 13 that all students in Grade 5 and up, along with bus drivers, will be required to wear non-medical masks on school buses.

Actor looks forward to teaching challenge

Alissa Watson is a talented physical comedian but for her next assignment she’s going to have to channel that energy in a different direction.The East Kildonan resident is one of the instructors at Manitoba Theatre for Young People’s online summer camps. During the week of Aug. 24 to 28, Watson will teach two classes of musical theatre online —a daily 60-minute session for children aged seven and eight and a 90-minute session for kids nine to 12. Watson is a performing clown, an actor and a percussionist, so she is used to releasing plenty of energy when performing. She admitted it will be a different experience teaching online but she says she’s prepared.“We’ve been planning and strategizing all summer,” Watson said. “We have to figure out what is the best way to connect online. So much about theatre is that connection piece.”She concedes that those connections will be harder to generate online.“The camera just eats your energy,” she said. “With kids you require over-the-top animation to keep them engaged.”Watson believes she has the right formula to keep kids’ attention. Through plenty of trial and error, along with her personal experience with online dance parties she’s learned a few tricks.“At first it sounded kind of silly,” Watson said of the online dance parties. “But it was a lot of fun and freeing to have the camera on and be in your space.”That realization helped Watson see that an online class might be a way to draw different personalities to theatre, especially those who may be reluctant to stretch themselves in an in-person group scenario. The opportunity to remain in your space and shorter class durations could encourage some kids to try theatre for the first time.Musical theatre students will learn how to move with the music and why that is such an important part of performance, Watson explained. There will also be opportunities to break into smaller groups with Watson or her assistant. With a maximum of 12 students in each class, everyone will get plenty of attention from instructors.Watson will also keep a key lesson in mind.“It’s not just acting with faces, it is important to use your whole body when telling stories,” she said.

Alissa Watson is a talented physical comedian but for her next assignment she’s going to have to channel that energy in a different direction.

The East Kildonan resident is one of the instructors at Manitoba Theatre for Young People’s online summer camps. During the week of Aug. 24 to 28, Watson will teach two classes of musical theatre online — a daily 60-minute session for children aged seven and eight and a 90-minute session for kids nine to 12. 

Watson is a performing clown, an actor and a percussionist, so she is used to releasing plenty of energy when performing. She admitted it will be a different experience teaching online but she says she’s prepared.

East Kildonan was once a city of its own

East Kildonan was only a separate city between 1957 and 1972 but that was a period of tremendous growth in and around the City of Winnipeg, according to Jim Smith of the North East Winnipeg Historical Society.In 1914 when the Municipality of Kildonan split into the rural municipalities of West and East Kildonan. Old Kildonan split off from West Kildonan in 1921 and North Kildonan split from East Kildonan in 1925.East Kildonan’s council was the driving force behind becoming a city in 1957, Smith said. It became the fourth city in the area, following Winnipeg, St. Boniface and St. James.“Because the population was close to 20,000, they (pursued) city status, they weren’t really a rural municipality any more,” Smith said.There was some trouble before the change, Smith said. The original idea was to name East Kildonan the City of Kildonan, but Old Kildonan, North Kildonan and West Kildonan all objected, with West Kildonan being the most vociferous.A compromise was worked out with East Kildonan accepted by all parties. The next step was to make it legal, which at the time required the introduction of a private member’s bill. Russ Paulley, the MLA for Kildonan-Transcona and future leader of the Manitoba NDP, had the honours.Then it was time for a party, which was scheduled for Dominion Day — July 1 — 1957.  Organizers went all-out, Smith said. There was a beauty contest,a  gym display at the East Kildonan Recreation Centre (now Melrose Community Club), a track meet, a horse meet and street dancing. A grand parade started at Melrose Avenue (now Kimberly Avenue) and Watt Street, headed  south to Montrose Avenue (now Larsen Avenue) and then turned west to Henderson Highway, culminating at 951 Henderson Highway in front of what was then the A&P, which now houses an auto body shop, butcher shop and ice cream store.“It was a big event,” Smith said. “The papers estimated there were 8,750 people in the crowd. At the time the entire population of East Kildonan was 20,000.”East Kildonan carried some momentum at the time, Smith said. The mid-’50s saw a housing boom during which saw the 400, 500 and 600 blocks of many avenues weredeveloped, along with the area north of Munroe Avenue to Oakland Avenue and much of Morse Place. That meant roads, sewers and schools.A few key facilities were built during the time East Kildonan was its own city, Smith said. The East Kildonan Incinerator and Centennial Park are two lasting examples.So, too,is the Kimberly Avenue firehall, which is a scaled-down version of what could have been, Smith said.“Originally they wanted to build a combined police and fire station but in those days they had to go to a vote of the people and the people turned it down,” Smith said.There was another opportunity to build a signature facility that was lost in 1968.“In 1968 there was a referendum to build a cultural centre, hockey arena and museum on the area where the Terry Sawchuk Arena is,” Smith said. “Again the people turned it down.” Jim Smith poses with a copy of The Herald from 1957 promoting ceremonies for the incorporation of the City of East Kildonan along with a copy of the North East Winnipeg Historical Society’s latest book, available on the group’s Facebook page.

East Kildonan was only a separate city between 1957 and 1972 but that was a period of tremendous growth in and around the City of Winnipeg, according to Jim Smith of the North East Winnipeg Historical Society.

In 1914 when the Municipality of Kildonan split into the rural municipalities of West and East Kildonan. Old Kildonan split off from West Kildonan in 1921 and North Kildonan split from East Kildonan in 1925.

East Kildonan’s council was the driving force behind becoming a city in 1957, Smith said. It became the fourth city in the area, following Winnipeg, St. Boniface and St. James.

Tickets now required for some church services

Most people are used to going to the Internet to get tickets to see the Winnipeg Jets or a popular rock ’n’ roll band but now some folks will have to go online to get tickets for church.Church?Yes, church. As pandemic restrictions loosen and larger groups are allowed to congregate, many churches are using online ticket sites such as Eventbrite to co-ordinate and regulate attendance to make sure they stay within provincial guidelines for services, which now permit up to 100 people to gather.Those wishing to attend mass at Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Catholic Church at 505 Watt St. must first visit the church’s website at holyeucharist.ca and pick either the 8 a.m. Ukrainian service or the 10 a.m. English one. They will also have to print a ticket and bring it with them. A similar process is involved at Riverwood Church Community. While about 1,500 people could attend services at the church’s three different sites at various times over a normal weekend, organizers have had to get creative to serve those wishing to attend on-site services. Like Holy Eucharist, space must be reserved online and proof of booking presented upon arrival.Riverwood begins its service week with a “taping of the service” on Thursday nights. The music and message are recorded for playing online on Sundays, where people can attend one of the church’s streaming sites to watch in a group or remain at home and watch on YouTube. Passes are required for all events.Once inside their place of worship, congregants will notice a few change,s too. Seating will be spaced out to maintain appropriate distancing. For some that means every second or third pew but for others it is an opportunity to get creative. Riverwood opted for cafe-style seating where small tables are placed at appropriate distances from each other. That format is repeated on Sundays and can be replicated across more sites and at more times as dictated by demand, organizers said.At Gateway Church, 851 Panet Rd., attendees must arrive 15 minutes before services begin to ensure protocols are being followed. Spots must also be reserved for all family members, as youth services and kids programming are on hold. Any normal practices which could involve touching, such as passing of donation baskets and provision of bulletins, have been changed.“No offering baskets or bulletins will be handed out,” a notice on Gateway’s website says. “Alternative online giving options will still be available, and the Gateway Weekly Update emails will continue to be sent to you each Friday.”

Most people are used to going to the Internet to get tickets to see the Winnipeg Jets or a popular rock ’n’ roll band but now some folks will have to go online to get tickets for church.

Church?

Yes, church. As pandemic restrictions loosen and larger groups are allowed to congregate, many churches are using online ticket sites such as Eventbrite to co-ordinate and regulate attendance to make sure they stay within provincial guidelines for services, which now permit up to 100 people to gather.

Video King continues to reign

When you’ve thrived in the ever-changing home entertainment business for 36 years, you know a thing or two about survival, Video King owner Glen Fuhl says.

Founded in 1984, Video King has been at its home at 309 Day St. since 1992, and over that time there have been a host of changes.

“From Beta to VHS, from DVD to Blu-Ray, we’ve seen all the transitions,” Fuhl said.In the early years, before the Internet, everyone rented movies, and many collected them but now, with streaming services, one would think there’s little demand for rental or purchase of movies.

But that’s not the case, Fuhl said. Video King does great business in rural communities from eastern Saskatchewan to Atikokan, Ont., where slower internet speeds make downloading  and streaming movies a cumbersome proposition. Many people in those communities still rent movies at corner stores or grocery stores, especially in cottage communities, whose populations swell in summer months.

Loewen sets another Guinness world record

Arvid Loewen has set another Guinness world record but, more importantly, he has helped many Kenyan children in the process.

Loewen, a 63-year-old grandfather of 12, broke the Guinness world record for longest distance cycled in one month. His 11,616 kilometres beat the old record by more than 300.Loewen was riding in support of Mully Children’s Family, a street child rescue mission in Kenya.

Over the past 15 years, Loewen has raised more than $7 million through his fundraising platform grandpascan.com

“I’m doing OK, I’m taking it easy now,” Loewen said Aug. 4, a few days after finishing his marathon ride

Miss Teenage Canada hopeful aims to help others

Keira Young hopes to use the platform of Miss Teenage Canada to help those less fortunate, and she’s off to a strong start.

Young, 14, was named Miss Teenage Winnipeg last fall and hopes to become Miss Teenage Canada at a competition in Toronto on August 24. When her mother told her about the opportunity she quickly applied.

“I wanted to put myself out there more and wanted to get involved with things,” Young explained.

“I wanted to get into modelling, helping people and inspiring people.”

Kicking its way through COVID-19

Steve Burch and Kildonan Karate are getting by with a little help from their friends, along with a dash of creativity.

The shotokan karate studio located at 1115 Henderson Hwy. held its last “normal” class on March 13 — but that doesn’t mean it has shut down.

Burch, the owner and head instructor, admitted there were some challenging times, especially at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic when uncertainty was paramount.

“All of a sudden your student base is gone and you have no revenue but you have these fixed costs, and you’re wondering how long this is going to last,” Burch said.

RM of Springfield to CNR: ‘See you in court’

Canadian National Railways is being taken to court by the Rural Municipality of Springfield over damages to a municipally owned road.

On March 23, Springfield filed a statement of claim with Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench which seeks remedial and maintenance costs along with general and specific damages from the railway for damage caused to Symington Road, which runs outside of Symington Yards just east of the city limits. A source pegs the damage at approximately $300,000.

That area is known as a switching area, where trains destined for various parts of North America transfer to the appropriate tracks. According to the filing, derailments occurred on June 9, 2015, Dec. 17, 2016, June 17, 2017, July 24, 2017, Nov. 5, 2018, and March 28, 2019. Other incidents may be introduced in court.

It’s not the derailments as much as the ensuing cleanup that causes the damage, Springfield lawyer Orville Currie said in his brief.

Waterways program aids Indigenous youth

James Lavallee says he found himself on the water and he wants to help Indigenous youth do the same.

Lavallee is one of five directors of Waterways Canada, which recently received a $1,000 grant from RBC’s Random Acts of Canadian program to expand its programming designed to create spaces for Indigenous people to connect with the land while strengthening their community.

When he was growing up in North Kildonan, Lavallee said he struggled in school and learned he had dyslexia and ADHD. His frustration grew and he began acting out. Lavallee’s parents tried to keep him busy in different activities but nothing helped — until he discovered competitive paddling.

“It changed my life and was an outlet for me to channel my frustration,” Lavallee said. “My grades began getting better. It was the first activity I saw myself getting better in.

Romanian pavilion takes to Instagram

Isabela Giubega wasn’t going to let a pandemic get in the way of sharing her Romanian culture with the world.

Giubega is the leader and choreographer of the Balada Dance Team, which normally thrills crowds with daily live performances at Folklorama’s Romanian Pavilion, usually held at the Bronx Park Community Centre on Henderson Highway. She said the small but proud Romanian community in Winnipeg always looks forward to showcasing its culture during that Folklorama week.

This was going to be a special year, Giubega explained. The group had decided to develop new routines and had been practising since November.

“We wanted a new show,” Giubega said. “We wanted to do new things.”

Bergen Cutoff Park gets a facelift

The new and improved Bergen Cutoff Park is a testament to the power of a community coming together for a good cause.

The park, located in the 1200 block of Kildonan Drive, recently underwent a complete overhaul that saw the old equipment replaced by a new space with something to offer everyone. Around the perimeter is a walking track covered with wood chips which act as a cushion for walkers and joggers. Also added was strength training equipment, a musical structure, a climbing rock, and the always-popular swing set and slide. Solar-powered lights will keep the space bright at night.North Kildonan Coun. Jeff Browaty credited the neighbourhood with taking ownership of their park, beginning with a meeting several years ago.

“I was expecting maybe four or five people to show up, and on a weeknight at Perkins 20-25 people showed up for coffee,” Browaty said. “And they shared their dreams.”

Community member Eugenia Lehmann said while her kids are grown, there are plenty of children and people of all ages who use the park. She worked with other neighbours to hold meetings, share ideas and send emails.

Imagining a new Elmwood streetscape

Motorists driving on Henderson Highway between Johnson Avenue and Hespeler Avenue may have noticed some temporary changes July 25 — some of which could become permanent.

The new streetscape was part of Reimagine Elmwood, a one-day trial which saw a temporary crosswalk, bicycle lanes and parking lanes installed on Henderson between noon and 8 p.m. It was an experiment to see how organizers could make Elmwood a more livable community.Michel Durand-Wood, co-chair of the Glenelm Neighbourhood Association, helped organize

Reimagine Elmwood along with representatives of seven other community groups. He said the afternoon’s test-drive evolved from the results of a survey of more than 1,500 respondents.

“One of the major themes that came back was the difficulty in getting around the neighbourhood, especially for families, youth and seniors,” Durand-Wood said.

Pandemic scams abound, expert warns

People with more idle time on their hands from the pandemic need to be vigilant or they could fall prey to many common scams, legal watchdog Peter Manstyrsky warns.

Manastyrsky is an associate with LegalShield, a provider of legal service plans. He often speaks to senior citizens and other groups about how to avoid risks.

Following many of his talks, Manastyrsky said he is approached by people afraid to share their stories in front of a crowd. They talk about how they have been victimized by identity fraud and other schemes.

“There are so many scams out there,” Manastyrsky said. “It’s been increasing in numbers, especially with certain scams.”

Local students earn mayor’s scholarships

Transcona Collegiate’s Kyla Abdullah and Miles Macdonell Collegiate’s Shubneet Thind were two of the five recipients of the Mayor’s Scholarship for Community Leadership announced July 16.

Managed by the Winnipeg Foundation, the winners were selected by an independent panel of judges. Each student receives $1,000.

“The annual presentation of the Mayor’s Scholarship for Community Leadership is a reminder of the inspiring work being done by Winnipeg’s young people,” Winnipeg mayor Brian Bowman said in a press release.

“It is always gratifying to acknowledge this great work but especially against the backdrop of the global pandemic since those graduating this year had a much different experience than ever before.”

Henderson Highway Legion is up and running

The Henderson Highway Legion Branch 215 is back open after a three-month layoff  — and it’s busier than ever.

A main reason for the Legion’s popularity is it provides much needed services to those living nearby, president Gord Machej said.

“The restaurant is important to the area,” Machej said. “There’s not many restaurants around here. It provides a good service to the area and works well with the Legion. They help us, we help them.”

Nicole Fanshaw, who co-owns Lee’s on deVries with Lee Finch, said another reason for the Legion’s success is how its different units work together.

Volunteens help fellow students in need

While schools across Winnipeg are closed for the summer, some of their students would go hungry if it were not for Brenda Brazeau and her team of students, including the River East Transcona School Division’s Volunteen program.

Brazeau is executive director of the Manitoba Association of Parent Councils, a group that meets regularly to discuss issues impacting them, ranging from fundraising to child suicide and bullying.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, not only did schools shut down but so did breakfast clubs which feed hundreds of children every day. In St. James School Division,250 families and 572 children rely on the meal program. In Pembina Trails School Division, it’s 450 families and 775 children.

“A lot of kids in Manitoba depend on those breakfast clubs for the one nutritious meal they may get in a day,” Brazeau said.

‘Bravo’ to these young composers

Two local students were big winners at Music for Young Children’s International Composition Festival.

Tavian Jensen won first place in Western Canada and second internationally for   his tune Forest Owl. The six-year-old composer explained he enjoys playing in the park and that influenced his work.

“It sounded like an owl in the forest,” Jensen said of Forest Owl.

Jensen said he practises almost every day and hopes to add the guitar and drums to his repertoire.

Breaking records and helping Kenyan orphans

Arvid Loewen has been cycling all month like his life depends on it. While his might night not, many others could.

Loewen, 63, is trying to earn a second Guinness world record for the farthest distance cycled in one month. Already the holder of the record for quickest bike ride across Canada (13 days, six hours and 13 minutes), Loewen is  attempt to top the 11,315 km travelled by Mark Beaumont, a British cyclist, in 2017, a man 26 years his junior.

Loewen’s efforts are in support of Mully Children’s Family, a street-child rescue mission in Kenya. Over the past 15 years, Loewen has raised more than $7 million through his fundraising platform grandpascan.com

Because of pandemic restrictions, Loewen could not cross borders to attempt this record, so he went with plan B, which, while not exciting, keeps him close to home.

Top soccer prospect headed to Calgary

Camilla Paolucci is on the verge of achieving her dream of playing collegiate soccer. The Miles Macdonell Collegiate graduate has committed to attend Mount Royal University in Calgary, beginning this fall.

Paolucci, a central midfielder, has been playing soccer since she was five years old, and remembers immediately falling in love with the beautiful game. She came by it naturally, as her uncle Marcello Paolucci suited up for the old Winnipeg Fury of the Canadian Soccer League, as well as Swansea City, a Welsh team that plays in the English Football League.

“Soccer is a way of life in Italy, so I think growing up in a proud and passionate Italian family really allowed me to fall even more in love with the game I was already so intrigued by,” Paolucci said.

By playing collegiate soccer, Paolucci follows a path taken by her favourite female players. Her talent on the field will allow her to reach a second, equally important dream. After completing her science degree, Paolucci plans on studying medicine.

Fringeless and frustrated

The Winnipeg International Fringe Theatre Festival’s pandemic-induced hiatus has affected few more than Tim Webster.

The East Kildonan-based performer has only missed one Winnipeg Fringe Festival since its inception in 1988. As the event has grown, so has Webster along with it, to the point that he says it hurts to be without it.

After graduating from high school, Webster took a year off before deciding what to do. Friends invited him to this “amazing event” downtown, and Webster said it changed his life.

“I was hooked,” Webster recalled. “I saw a group called SAK Theatre. They were doing commedia dell’arte and Fractured Fairy Tales. Something in my soul leapt up and said, ‘I have to do that’.”

MMF celebrates Manitoba 150

Buhler Park on Murdoch Road was the scene for a spectacular fireworks show staged by the Manitoba Metis Federation in honour of Manitoba’s 150th birthday July 15. The show lasted for 25 minutes.

River East Church thrives on Zoom

Some wise decisions early on, combined with flexibility and a willingness to learn, have River East Church handling service delivery as best as possible during the pandemic, Pastor Mary Anne Isaak said.

The church’s leadership team had many lengthy discussions as the COVID-19 pandemic developed. Those early meetings were key to the church’s successful response.

“The decisions made early on set us on a trajectory,” Isaak began.Because members of the pastoral team could not meet in person, they chose to meet daily over Zoom and quickly decided on a philosophy for how they would address the changes coming their way.

“For the worship service, we decided to focus on two words, ‘simple’ and ‘participatory’,” Isaak explained. “We asked ourselves ‘How can we do this so we can actually manage it?’”

Mmm, mmm…. goodies!

Kristina Majowski and Shannon MacTavish used to dream of opening their own bakeries — and that dream has become reality.

White Birch Bakery, located at 1108 Henderson Hwy., blends the talents and cultures of its owners. MacTavish, a Red Seal chef, is Scottish and brings her recipes for shortbread and empire cookies; Majowski, a trained pastry chef, contributes traditional Slovenian fare, including strudel and almond crescents.

Majowski explained that the white birch name ties together the Slovenian, Scottish and Canadian cultures. For Celts, the tree signifies new beginnings, wisdom and hope. It is found in the centre of many Slovenian homes and, of course, white birch is also found in Canada.

MacTavish and Majowski have worked together for a decade and their skills complement each other, Majowski said. It took the pair more than six months to find the ideal location but it was worth the wait, Majowksi said.

Seniors’ group restores several services

As COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions begin to ease, there will be meal services available for senior citizens, Transcona Council for Seniors’ Colleen Tackaberry said.

Tackaberry said the organization’s popular meal service is operating on a takeout basis three days per week.

On Mondays and Wednesdays meals are available beginning at 4 p.m. at the Transcona United

Church at 209 Yale Ave. W. On Thursdays starting at noon they are available at 500 Widlake.Don’t worry if you can’t leave your home for now, as delivery service is available, Tackaberry said. Please call ahead to 204-222-9879 to book a meal.

Computers for those who need them

People desperately in need of computers to keep them connected during the pandemic recently got some help from a diverse group who joined forces to provide them.

On July 6, trucks rolled out of Computers for Schools’ warehouse in South Transcona with computers destined for neighbourhoods in Winnipeg and communities across Manitoba, such as Marcel Colomb First Nation, Swan River and Thompson.

The idea began with Tech Manitoba, whose DigitALL program provides people with computers and training. It get sthe computers from Computers for Schools, one of Manitoba’s largest electronics recyclers, which diverts an average of 500,000 pounds of e-waste per year from Manitoba’s landfills.

“It’s a natural partnership. We can provide the devices while they provide the training,” said Computers for Schools executive director Justin Menard, adding that his organization has been bombarded with requests since the pandemic’s onset.

Miles Mac grads attend backyard formal

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of her graduation celebration, Tessa McLeod held her own.

McLeod, who graduated from Miles Macdonell Collegiate in June, held a graduation dinner on July 7, complete with a full meal and decorations. Graduates came in the formal wear they planned on wearing to the school dinner.

Graduation season begins to pick up in the spring and McLeod said assumed she was in for a typical experience.

“At the beginning I wasn’t that concerned that grad wasn’t going to happen,” she admitted. “As time went on and we weren’t at school I started to worry that I wouldn’t get a grad.

Anyone for beer and wings?

Little Bones was looking to put its food truck to good use this summer and Torque Brewing was looking for a food services partner. The ensuing partnership will delight the taste buds of diners across Winnipeg.

The two companies recently agreed to a deal which will see Little Bones set up its food truck in Torque’s parking lot at 830 King Edward St.

During Torque’s business hours, guests are welcome to order wings or chicken tenders from Little Bones for either takeout or to eat in Torque’s taproom (provided they buy a beverage).

Little Bones managing director David MacKay said he was worried for a moment when the pandemic hit in March. They weren’t able to serve diners in their Transcona location., but those fears didn’t last long, as MacKay saw opportunity.

Terry Sawchuk Arena to reopen this fall

The Terry Sawchuk Arena will operate for the 2020-2021 winter season after Winnipeg City Council approved the move at its June 26 meeting.

On March 23, 2020, while discussing the 2020-2023 operating budget, council directed municipal staff to seek third-party organizations to operate the arena via a lease or management agreement. Selling the site was not considered due to the arena being in a landfill control zone.

The rink was closed for the 2019-2020 season after mould was discovered throughout the facility. While air quality tests showed no immediate risk, the arena was closed as a precautionary measure so the mould issue could be

Coun. Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan) said a lower than expected mould remediation cost was one factor in the decision.

Melville honoured for her museum work

Isobel Melville has a park named after her and she is certainly worthy of the honour.

The greenspace at 220 Heartstone Dr. in Transcona will forever be known as Isobel Melville Park, named for a key figure in the history of the Transcona Museum. Melville officially opened the park June 25 in front of a large crowd of family and friends.

“I always had an interest in history, so working in the museum was a pleasure for me,” Melville said. “I was proud to be a part of maintaining Transcona’s history.”

Melville, her husband Jack, and their two small children immigrated to Winnipeg from Scotland in 1967 and after five years settled in Transcona. In 1987 the Transcona Museum’s curator was considering retirement and the board approached Melville to take over temporarily.

Anyone for beer and wings?

Little Bones was looking to put its food truck to good use this summer and Torque Brewing was looking for a food services partner. The ensuing partnership will delight the taste buds of diners across Winnipeg.

The two companies recently agreed to a deal which will see Little Bones set up its food truck in Torque’s parking lot at 830 King Edward St.

During Torque’s business hours, guests are welcome to order wings or chicken tenders from Little Bones for either takeout or to eat in Torque’s taproom (provided they buy a beverage).

Little Bones managing director David MacKay said he was worried for a moment when the pandemic hit in March. They weren’t able to serve diners in their Transcona location., but those fears didn’t last long, as MacKay saw opportunity.

Calvin Christian creates special grad sendoff

Like schools across the world, Calvin Christian Collegiate had to get creative to help its Grade 12 students have a memorable graduation in the middle of a pandemic.

The independent Christian school at 706 Day St. has 33 graduates in 2020. Normally, graduation ceremonies would include a traditional event at which students receive their diplomas while a teacher highlights their accomplishments and shares their future plans. Above the stage, a screen shows their graduation and childhood photographs.

The school also usually hosts a graduation evening to which parents and families are invited for dinner, a reception and speeches. The students stay later for their own evening.

Those rituals were not possible this year, so teachers and administration developed some unique ways to give the students a memorable send-off.

From East St. Paul to… Lima, Peru

A former East St. Paul fire truck is being rewarded for a fine career with retirement to South America.

The pumper truck is headed to Lima, Peru via Firefighters Without Borders Canada (FWBC), an organization that has been helping  firefighters in developing countries since 2002. They work to train local recipient crews and have completed more than 25 projects in 20 countries.The idea for the donation came from within the department, East St. Paul fire chief Ray Riddolls said in a release.

“Donating equipment to departments in other parts of the world to improve their safety is important to members of the East St. Paul Fire Department and I’m proud of our team for reaching out to Firefighters Without Borders Canada and making this happen,” Riddolls said.

“Our guys are dedicated to keeping East St. Paul safe, and when there is an opportunity to help out in other parts of the world, they put in the effort there too.”East St. Paul’s mayor echoed Riddolls’ sentiments.

Coral aquariums mimic the real world

Maintaining a coral-based aquarium provides hobbyists with great insight into how our world’s oceans are affected by climate change, George Kiriakidis says.

Kiriakidis is the owner of Concrete Blonde Corals, newly opened at Unit G, 359 Johnson Ave. W. For him, what initially began as a hobby quickly grew into a business.

“I got into it and it was like a bug,” he admitted.

As he spent more time in the hobby, Kiriakidis’ coral grew and he had to fragment pieces off to sell to other hobbyists. As more people do that, it lessens the amount of coral taken from oceans, he said.

Browaty looks forward to new role

Jeff Browaty’s new role as a member of the City of Winnipeg’s executive policy committee will see him looking for efficiencies in service delivery while also determining what positive lessons we can take from Winnipeg’s pandemic response, he said.

The North Kildonan councillor assumed the chair of the standing policy committee on innovation and economic development on June 27. He said Mayor Brian Bowman and city council are prioritizing how to deliver services more efficiently.

Browaty said his review of services will start with parking tickets. Sometimes street signage can confuse motorists and leave them with a parking ticket they feel is unjustified.

“Even if you got a warning ticket and you weren’t in the wrong, it’s a problem,” Browaty said.

Municipalities express concerns over Bill 48

Towns and municipalities surrounding Winnipeg, including East St. Paul, have banded together to develop a document chronicling their objections to the Province of Manitoba’s proposed Bill 48.

Bill 48 — the Planning Amendment and City of Winnipeg Charter Amendment Act, proposes the establishment of a capital planning region including Winnipeg, East St. Paul, Selkirk, and rural municipalities such as Springfield and St. Clements.

It was introduced in the wake of an investigation of the City of Winnipeg’s planning, property and development department, which revealed employee misconduct.

Under Bill 48, all development plans, secondary plans and zoning by-laws of participating municipalities must be consistent with one regional bylaw. The proposed planning region would be governed by a board consisting of at least one member from each of the 18 participating territories.

Helping Harvest with a set of wheels

Automotive technology students at Murdoch MacKay Collegiate spent the school year saving a car from the scrap heap while helping Winnipeg’s hungry at the same time.

Teacher Lucas MacIntosh said the close-to-150 students in the Grade 9-12 program usually undertake a community service project in conjunction with the school’s annual car show, such as free oil changes for lawn mowers. In September 2019 they were granted different opportunity when a community member donated a 2005 Mitsubishi Endeavor to the program.

MacIntosh let the students decide what to do with the vehicle and was glad he did.

“I’m going to give it to the students to decide if they want to resurrect this vehicle or use it as a teachable component,” MacIntosh said. “I was blown away by their philosophy and perspective on environmental sustainability.”

Wellness message earns prestigious award

The River East Collegiate Chamber Choir used its talents to highlight the importance of emotional wellness and was rewarded in the process.

The group of 25 students in Grades 9-12 won the Muriel Waldie Memorial Bursary at the Winnipeg Music Festival this year.

Named in honour of the past president of both the festival and the Manitoba Music Educator, the bursary signifies the most outstanding choral performance of a selection by a Canadian composer.

Choir director Nicole Ens said each year the students select a theme to focus their performances around. For 2019-20 they chose emotional wellness, which built on the school-wide theme: “Every Voice Matters.”

Life’s a Beach at volleyball hotspot

There’s always a good time to be had at The Beach, no matter the weather, owner Daryl Didyk says.

Entering its third year of operation, the sandy, indoor entertainment centre at 2600 Wenzel St. in East St. Paul is busy seven days a week.

Didyk, who owns The Beach with partners Bill King and Kelly Crerar, said the partners were bouncing the idea around for a few years and considered several locations before choosing East St. Paul.

“We all have families here and I grew up here,” Didyk said. “We wanted to be close to our community and families.”

Local runners to join U of M track team

Two local athletes headline the 2020 recruiting class of the University of Manitoba Bisons track and field team.

River East Collegiate graduate Angela Kroeker is a middle-distance and distance runner who will also compete in cross country. Her accolades include a gold medal in the 3,000 metres at the 2018 Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association championships and a bronze in the same event at the 2019 Western Canada Games. An honour roll student in each of her four years at River East, Kroeker was also named the school’s athlete of the year.

Murdoch MacKay Collegiate’s Reese Lange is also a four-year honour roll student and was twice named athlete of the year. The sprinter was a 2019 MHSAA silver medalist in the 100 metres and was a member of a 4x100-metre relay team that set a provincial record. Lange has extensive provincial team experience.

“These athletes exemplify the tremendous work being done in track and field at both the high school and club levels in Manitoba,” Bisons track and field head coach Claude Berubé said, speaking  of the entire 13-person recruitment class.

Ukrainian students celebrated

The Manitoba Parents for Ukrainian Education weren’t going to let the pandemic get in the way of giving graduates across Manitoba a special send-off.

The non-profit, volunteer-driven organization normally hosts events and to help students in the

English-Ukrainian Bilingual Program connect with peers across Manitoba, especially in the spring. While those traditional events had to be cancelled, the board still wanted to recognize the 110 students graduating from the program, president Paulette Monita said.

One board member suggested a small parade which would attend the 110 graduate homes.

Doornbos chooses to play close to family

Brendan Doornbos took his time deciding where to play college volleyball but, in the end, he opted for a school close to home.

Doornbos, an 18-year-old, 6-4 left side from Calvin Christian School in Transcona, has committed to play for the University of Winnipeg Wesmen under head coach Larry McKay.

Doornbos said he had offers from different programs across Canada but chose the Wesmen after realizing how important it was to remain close to family.

The recruitment process began in Doornbos’ Grade 11 year when a teammate texted him to say McKay wanted to speak with him.

Miles Mac student wins Winnipeg Ice mask contest mask con

Even though he had no final exams at school, Mathieu Ferrand still passed a big test.Ferrand, a Grade 9 student at Miles Macdonell Collegiate, won the Winnipeg Ice’s Test the Helmet contest, which saw hundreds of kids submit designs for a new goalie mask for the WHL junior hockey club.

The contest was sponsored by Real Canadian Superstore and the Canadian Hockey League (the umbrella organization which governs the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League) and Ferrand was celebrated at a ceremony June 10, attended by members of the Ice and Superstore employees.Entering the contest was a last-minute decision, Ferrand said. His mom, Destiny, had been

shopping at Superstore a few days before the deadline and brought home the details, figuring her son could put his art skills to good use.

“I have done this kind of work before and I like drawing and designing,” Ferrand explained. “I always like designing cars and even digital designing.”

Mennonite Brethren adapted quickly to digital world

Like schools around the world, Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute had to adjust quickly to continue providing the best education possible for its students when the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to close its doors.

The results have been impressive due to a combination of good fortune, a dedicated staff and committed students, principal Andrea Neufeld said.

“It’s about how quickly you can mobilize,” Neufeld said when asked for her reaction in the pandemic’s early days.

“Students are the heart of our work. We’re committed to learning and to our students.”

Elmwood Legion facing uncertain future

When your neighbourhood branch of  the Royal Canadian Legion suffers, so does the surrounding community, and the Elmwood branch has fallen on hard times during the COVID-19 pandemic, president Ted Beddington said.

Located at 920 Nairn Ave. ,Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 9 began this calendar year with some momentum. A full board of directors had ideas on how to grow membership and deliver needed programming. Plans were afoot to purchase a new sign and recent improvements had included new flooring and doors.

Then the pandemic stopped everything in its tracks.

“We were established to help the needs of veterans and the community and through those 94 years we’ve been able to do that strongly,” Beddington said. “Our goal now is to stay in business. We have to keep these doors open for the veterans and the kids. We’re trying to raise some money to keep our branch open.”

Giving back brings its rewards

Chinemerem Chigbo is living proof that when you give of yourself the world gives back.

Chigbo, a graduating student from Miles Macdonell Collegiate, has earned a coveted 2020 TD Scholarship for community leadership. Provided under the bank’s TD Ready Commitment program, the $70,000 scholarship acknowledges the achievements of youth who are making a difference in their community.

“It’s surreal, I don’t know how to feel,” Chigbo said of the honour. “It came out of the blue and is a big relief. I’m going to (the University of) Waterloo to study computer engineering, so it will be a big help.”

It’s safe to say Chigbo meets the criteria. The outgoing president of Miles Macdonell’s student council, he started the Heads-up Guys Club, a mental health group for boys at the school, where they can safely be themselves and talk about mental health.

Banners carry inspiring messages

A pair of banners hanging at St. Alphonsus School and the adjacent Roman Catholic Church are meant to bring hope during these trying times, their creator said.

Maria Cox said she got the idea for the banners after speaking with many congregants in her role as office co-ordinator for the church. Calls lasted longer as people clearly longed to connect with others after having normal avenues suddenly cancelled.

“When COVID-19 struck, we were all in an odd state of anxiety,” Cox said.

A graphic designer with a fine arts degree, Cox channelled her stress into creating something that made sense of the confusion — a statement of how people were feeling. She invited congregants to submit photos and also asked students at the school, where her husband teaches, to do the same.

Well-being campaign launched for Holy Family Home

The Manitoba provincial council of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress is looking to provide Holy Family Home with the best possible defence against COVID-19 and other viruses the facility will have to contend with in the future.

UCC-MPC president Joanne Lewandosky said the group has launched a well-being campaign and that it was compelled to act because of the toll the pandemic has taken on seniors around the world, especially those living in long-term care facilities.

“The Ukrainian community wanted to acknowledge the people, not only from our own community — but all our most vulnerable citizens who are living in Holy Family Home,” Lewandosky said. “These are our seniors, our parents, grandparents, and they’ve been our foundation, strength and most of all an inspirational legacy.”

Launched in collaboration with the Lubov SSMI Foundation (which is associated with the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate, an international congregation of sisters for the Ukrainian Catholic Church), the well-being campaign’s goals are to help enhance care.

Prairie Crocus Thrift Shop to support addiction centre

A recovery housing centre planned for Elmwood received a big financial boost thanks to a new partnership with the Prairie Crocus Thrift Shop.

The store will provide a portion of its annual profits to Riverwood House, a complex being organized by Riverwood Church Community. The centre is to be built on the northeast corner of

Talbot Avenue and Stadacona Street, adjacent to Riverwood Church Community’s offices.The partnership is an extension of an existing relationship, Riverwood Church Community pastor Jon Courtney said.

“We love them because for many years in operation they have been supporting Finding Freedom and React (two Riverwood-based recovery programs),” Courtney said. “All of the work they do here supports people who are in recovery from addictions.

Udoh steps up to USports with U of M

Miles Macdonell Collegiate football star Nathan Udoh has committed to continue his football career with the University of Manitoba Bisons, even if his debut will be delayed by a season.

The 6-2, 185-pound receiver was a popular recruit, and not just in football. He had two other scholarship offers to play football and another for soccer.

“The reason I choose to stay home and play at the U of M was because of the family culture that the team has,” Udoh explained.

“The moment I walked into the locker room I felt comfortable, like I’m supposed to be here.”Udoh and his new teammates were thrown an ugly curveball on June 8, when USports and the Canada West conference said that their fall sports schedules were cancelled, meaning Udoh won’t play a down for the team until the 2012 season.

Transcona soccer star hopes to pay it forward

As he prepares to launch his post-secondary scholastic and soccer career, Connor Batiuk says he’s grateful for the many people who helped make it possible.

Batiuk, from Transcona Collegiate, has earned a full scholarship to the University of Saskatchewan where, in addition to pursuing a business degree, he will also play for the Huskies soccer program.

While he had several offers from schools in the Canada West conference of USports, Batiuksaid he chose the U of S for several reasons.

“(It’s) the province I was born in and is still close to home,” Batiuk said. “They have a very good school and soccer program, as they finished fourth last season in the Canada West league.”

Making the grade at The Rink Academy

If Tyson Vouriot wanted to attend the Rink Hockey Academy, he had to keep good grades. Safe to say he’s delivered on his promise.

Vouriot, a Transcona resident, has been selected to the Canadian Sport School Hockey League’s (CSSHL) bantam prep academic all-star team for western Canada.

“I’m very happy about it, that the work I put in with school has paid off,” Vouriot said.The CSSHL is a league of education-based hockey academies that offer both schooling and hockey training. Vouriot, 15, attends the Rink Hockey Academy in Oak Bluff, Man., where he practises and trains in the afternoons and attends morning classes at Shaftesbury High School.

“I thought it was the best way to get my name out there,” Vouriot said when asked why he wanted to attend the Rink Hockey Academy.

Some northeast summer camps are set to run

While there will still be plenty of activities for kids to do over the summer, some of them will look a little different as Manitoba continues to loosen pandemic restrictions.

Beginning June 1, day camp groups were allowed to increase to 24 participants, provided they allow people to maintain two metres of distance between each other, save for brief exchanges.

Overnight camps, choir and musical theatre camps are not allowed, with the latter two banned due to the increased risk of transmission via singing.

All staff at day camps that do open must be monitored for symptoms and hygiene stations will have to be installed throughout camp facilities.

Volleyball star aims for perfect balance

In choosing the University of Winnipeg to continue her volleyball career, Christine Kolbuck believes she has found the perfect balance between a good education and the support of family and friends.

The Transcona Collegiate star is one of three Titans who will continue playing volleyball at the university level, joining Mackenzie Hartle (University of New Brunswick) and Deluca Klatt (University of Manitoba).

Kolbuck, a six-foot middle blocker, said she began pursuing college opportunities by creating a highlight tape and sending it to coaches across Canada and then discussed her options with her coach Phil Hudson.

“(He) talked about all the different options for me and how I could make a serious impact on the competitiveness and overall outcome of the team,” Kolbuck said.

Diff’rent strokes ahead for Transcona rower

Zoe Adam’s collegiate rowing career is beginning in unique fashion but she is taking it in stride.

Soon to graduate from Miles Macdonell Collegiate, Adam has committed to attend the University of Minnesota where, in addition to rowing, she will pursue a degree in nutritional science.

Adam said she came late to rowing, as she did dance and competed in acrobatics until she was 15. Prior to Grade 11, she opted to get into a boat.

“I quickly fell in love with the sport and learned what it takes to be an athlete mentally and physically,” Adam said.

Miles Mac hoops star opts for Providence College

Isabella Seales wanted to continue her basketball career while also training for a career in helping people and she believes she has found the perfect spot to pursue both goals.

Seales, the Miles Macdonell Collegiate star, has committed to Providence College, where she will study intercultural studies and teaching English to people in other countries.

“I am studying to become a teacher in underdeveloped countries to teach children English as a second language,” Seales said.

Seales said she filled out a self-recruitment form for Providence College, after which Providence coach Joel Coursey watched her play. After a campus tour and discussion about the level of commitment required to balance sport and study, Seales made her choice.

Moar will play basketball for Providence

Transcona Collegiate basketball star Emma Moar is on the cusp of fulfilling her dream — but she says she won’t soon forget the people who made it possible.

Moar has committed to play for Providence College in Otterburne, Man., this fall, following a recruiting process made unique due to pandemic restrictions.

“I was recruited online by coach Joel (Coursey) in order to take social distancing measures,” Moar said. “A lot of emails and messages were sent in order for him to get to know me and for me to understand what becoming a Pilot would mean.

“My coach did a very good job in our conversations of explaining the culture they’ve built at Providence in their women’s basketball team which was a big reason for my commitment.”

riverwoodchurchcenter.com/registrations/events/411473

While there will still be plenty of activities for kids to do over the summer, some of them will look a little different as Manitoba continues to loosen pandemic restrictions.

Beginning June 1, day camp groups were allowed to increase to 24, provided they allow people to maintain two metres of distance between each other, save for brief exchanges.

Overnight camps, choir and musical theatre camps are not allowed, with the latter two banned due to the increased risk of transmission via singing.

All staff at day camps that do open must be monitored for symptoms and hygiene stations will have to be installed throughout camp facilities.

Pro sports chaplain says he’s as busy as ever

For that past 10 weeks, Lorne Korol has virtually been a chaplain.

The East Kildonan resident actually is a chaplain but he is doing most of his work via a computer screen and not at a football stadium or hockey rink, as he usually does.

Korol is the chaplain for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Winnipeg Jets and Manitoba Moose. With none of the city’s professional sports teams playing and few players in Winnipeg, you might think his work is a little slow but it’s been anything but.

“I’m busier now than I have been normally during the end of hockey season,” Korol said.

Transcona archer aimed for South Dakota school

After a four-year courtship, Brady Klassen and Mount Marty College have finally made it official.Klassen, a Transcona resident and Murdoch MacKay Collegiate student, will be attending the small Catholic university in Yankton, S.D., to pursue a secondary education degree and make his mark on the school’s archery team.

The Klassens and Mount Marty began speaking four years ago, when he attended the Easton Yankton Archery Complex to participate in its high-performance junior academy. The school and the family kept in touch throughout Klassen’s high school years.

“I was interested in attending Mount Marty because it’s closer to home, the team is made up of a talented group of archers, and the Easton training facility lets me practise at almost any distance I desire all-year around,” Klassen said.

When he decided to commit to the Lancers, they had to make some adjustments due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Slo-Pitch National develops return-to-play plans

Slo-pitch players will soon be back playing the game they love with only a few changes designed to keep them safe, Slo-Pitch National regional director Kent Kamenz said.

Kamenz has been in regular discussions with SPN national executive directors and representatives from leagues across Manitoba to get their feedback, recommendations and suggestions on SPN’s return-to-play plans. He thinks they’ve reached some reasonable conclusions.

“We wanted to keep the game the same but at the same time we wanted to promote a safe environment,” Kamenz said.

“Nobody wants to go back to a different set of rules, but there had to be a comfort level in order for them to go back.”

King’s School sold to French school division

Gateway Christian Community owns what will soon be a surplus building and the Divisions scolaire franco-manitobaine needs another school in northeast Winnipeg — so the Province of Manitoba has solved two problems by purchasing the King’s School.

The announcement was made May 26.

Located at 851 Panet Rd, the King’s School currently houses a kindergarten to Grade 12 school offering Christian-based education. To accommodate the DSFM, minor renovations will take place over the summer and four temporary, modular classrooms will be installed. They will be used until June 30, 2022, when the DSFM assumes full control of the site.

The purchase helps the Province of Manitoba fulfill its guarantee of building or creating 20 new schools, said provincial education minister Kelvin Goertzen said.

Northeast food banks say numbers are normal

While the COVID-19 pandemic has led to many changes in society, it has not yet sent more people to food banks in northeast Winnipeg, representatives of two food banks said.

But there have been changes, as Winnipeg Harvest has altered its approach, switching from a two-week food bank model to a four-week format.

“It feels like we’re serving less people,” said LeeAnn Cheadle, community program director with Riverwood Church.

“I calculated the numbers and we have not really seen an increase in the number of people we are serving. Winnipeg Harvest is convinced these numbers will rise and by spreading out hampers to every four weeks it will make room for new clients.”Riverwood Church is holding a weekly food drive to keep its shelves stocked. The community is invited to drop off select food items at The Garage, located at 274 Talbot Ave., between 4 and 6 p.m. on Tuesdays. The most-needed items are peanut butter and jam, canned meat, bagged apples and oranges, plain Cheerios and Rice Krispies, hand soap, canned vegetables, pasta and pasta sauce, and feminine pads.

Festival of Banners to be judged on Facebook

The Transcona Business Improvement Zone wants you to be the judge of its annual Festival of Banners, which sees Transcona students design banners to hang in 60 spots around the community.

Executive director Leila Dance said the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a few changes to the long-running contest.

Normally art students complete a design as part of their coursework but, with students working remotely, it is now optional. Interested students may drop off their submissions at the BIZ office or email them in.

That hasn’t stopped more than 100 students from participating, more than enough to cover the 60 available spots around town. While the number of submissions is lower than in normal years, it’s still a healthy amount, Dance said.

Elmwood alums keep on fundraising

Members of the Elmwood High School Alumni Association aren’t letting a pandemic get in the way raising money for their alma mater’s legacy fund.

Committee member Linda Boughton said that, since the group’s inception 11 years ago, it has raised more than $300,000 to help students at Elmwood High through a combination of golf tournaments, reunions and other events. The funds are managed by the Winnipeg Foundation, so their impact will continue in the decades ahead.

Alumni recently received an email encouraging them to donate their old laptop computers, desktop computers or tablets to Computers for Schools, a non-profit organization that provides technology to people and groups in need, including students and programs at Elmwood High.

All donations will be tested, cleaned and refurbished prior to distribution, while those that cannot be used will be properly recycled.

East St. Paul news in brief

Accident leads to power outageSome East St. Paul residents were without power for three hours May 21 after a farming mishap.

A Manitoba Hydro spokesman said a piece of farm equipment hit a hydro pole near the intersection of Garven Road and Highway 59 at 9:43 a.m., resulting in power disruption to 476 customers.

Power was restored at 12:40 p.m.

Large-item pickup comingEast St. Paul residents have a great opportunity to rid themselves of some bulky waste over the next few weeks. Until Fri., May  29, Waste Connections of Canada will be picking up select items on regular garbage pickup days.

The elm’s alive with the sound of bells

If you’re in the Glenelm neighbourhood on Sunday mornings and enjoy church bell music, does the Big Red Church ever have an opportunity for you.

Every Sunday morning at 11, um, bells, the church at 127 Cobourg Ave. plays hymns and songs as a gift from the church community to the surrounding neighbourhood. The sessions average about 15 minutes in length and have featured such standards as How Great Thou Art and For the Beauty of the Earth.

“The Big Red Church has decided that in this time of COVID-19 that they are going to play some songs and hymns on their carillon each Sunday at 11 a.m. for the neighbourhood not only to enjoy but also, as Lexx Jefferson, a long time member of The Big Red Church, put it, ‘to ring the bells with songs to touch base with the neighbourhood, that we know you are out there and that we are here as a church community as well’,” said church member Sherryl Koop.

”The songs are to be a gentle reminder that Jesus is with us even though we cannot be together. Something that we hope brightens our day and brings the Son into focus.”Koop, who also serves on the board of the Glenelm Neighbourhood Association, said the community’s reaction has been enthusiastic.

Fraser’s Grove once touted as U of M site

The University of Manitoba could have been built in Fraser’s Grove, according to newspaper articles discovered by historian Jim Smith.

Smith is one of the leaders of the North East Winnipeg Historical Society, a group dedicated to collecting and preserving the history of East Kildonan, North Kildonan and Elmwood.

While researching his books on the area’s history, Smith unearthed a pair of articles published in early 1910 in the Manitoba Free Press (now the Winnipeg Free Press). Together they tell the beginnings of a plan to move the University of Manitoba north instead of south.

At the time, the university was in downtown Winnipeg and would grow over the next 20 years before moving to its current location in Fort Garry by 1929.

Elmwood High wins $20,000 in green contest

Elmwood High School has been rewarded for its environmentally friendly efforts with $20,000 in new technology from Staples Canada.

The school is one of 20 Canadian winners of the Superpower Your School Contest, an annual event held in partnership with EcoKids, Earth Day Canada, Intel Canada and Bullfrog Power.

The school was cited for showing community leadership in protecting the environment, including making a positive impact through innovative projects and programs, encouraging environmentally responsible behaviour in everyday life, and demonstrating a long-term commitment to a healthier environment.

Teachers and administration will work with a local Staples general manager to outfit the school. For the first year, the technology will be powered by Bullfrog Power and consist of 100 per cent green electricity from sources such as wind and low-impact hydro.

You can take boy out of Transcona…

Transcona’s Alex DeVries has always known he wanted to entertain others for a living, and each day he gets to fulfill that dream in Dauphin as an on-air personality at CKDM.

Before graduating from Winnipeg’s Academy of Broadcasting in 2010, DeVries had to work 100 hours in radio, which is where his career took a turn.

“Radio is not an easy field to get into,” DeVries said. “If I wanted to get hired after the practicum I felt I had better shot if I went outside of Winnipeg.”

DeVries contacted CKDM, who offered him work in the runup to Countryfest and the Dauphin Agricultural Society Fair. There were no full-time openings, but DeVries didn’t give up and offered to work CKDM’s overnight slot for free. He did that for almost a year before landing a paid on-air job in 2011.

East St. Paul wants to ensure fair oversight

Like many of its counterparts in the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region, the council of the Rural Municipality of East St. Paul has some concerns about the province’s Bill 48, Mayor Shelley Hart said.

Bill 48 – the Planning Amendment and City of Winnipeg Charter Amendment Act, proposes the establishment of a capital planning region including Winnipeg, East St. Paul, Selkirk, and rural municipalities such as Springfield and St. Clements.

Planning regions help maintain orderly development within their boundaries, working in conjunction with by-laws, development plans and secondary plans to help a municipality pursue an effective mix of economic, residential and agricultural development.Bill 48 was introduced following an investigation of the City of Winnipeg’s Planning, Property and Development department revealing employee misconduct.

Under Bill 48, all development plans, secondary plans and zoning by-laws of participating municipalities must be consistent with one regional by-law. The proposed planning region would be governed by a board consisting of at least one member from each of the 18 participating territories. The municipal board would be given jurisdiction to hear appeals of land-use decisions made by a planning district, municipality or planning commission. An applicant can also appeal if its local municipality does not process its application in a timely manner.

A true lens master

East Kildonan photographer Bruce Hendricks has taken a place among his profession’s elite after capturing a series of rare honours.

Hendricks is the eighth person in history to earn the honour of becoming a fellow of the Professional Photographers of Canada, the youngest ever to win the Yousuf Karsh lifetime achievement award for photographic excellence and the youngest Manitoban in history to be named a master of photographic arts by the Professional Photographers of Canada.

Hendricks’ path began as a Grade 10 student at Kildonan East Collegiate when he enrolled in a visual communications course. He settled on photography because he knew every day would be different. Hendricks also sought out learning opportunities, eventually talking his way into an informal apprenticeship with a wedding photographer.

Armed with good grades and some experience, Hendricks thought he was ready for bigger things, including full membership in the same professional organizations now honouring him, but he was mistaken. While talented, Hendricks had more work to do.

Oliphant to be the ‘young gun’ on senior circuit

Rob Oliphant hopes to continue his winning ways as he progresses to the next stage of his golf career.

Oliphant, whose home course is Rossmere Golf and Country Club, is eligible to play in seniors golf tournaments after recently turning 55 years old. While most imagine golfing at that point to be a leisurely affair, Oliphant said he plans on hitting the links at least three time per week and working on all aspects of his game so he can make Manitoba’s team for the Canadian men’s senior Championships, which are scheduled to take place at the Pheasant Glen Golf Resort in Qualicum Beach, B.C.,  Sept. 15 to 18.

His expectations are high, thanks to a career which has seen him win a championship in every decade he’s played. At 13, Oliphant played in his first Manitoba Junior Championship, and four years later he was crowned Rossmere’s junior club champion. Another Rossmere championship followed, as did spots on two Manitoba mid-amateur teams. Later, in his 20s, Oliphant finished fifth at the Canadian junior championships.

After he turned 40 Oliphant returned to competitive golf and learned he had to make adjustments if he hoped to maintain his success. A back injury and younger competition who could hit further than him led Oliphant to work on his ball placement and short game. He also had to work on his putting, which he admitted has been a career-long challenge.

Join in with the noisy neighbours

A Transcona woman is rallying her neighbours to show support for first responders and front-line workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Joan Beveridge said a group of neighbours have taken to their yards the last five Saturday evenings to make all sorts of noise as a way of showing appreciation for everyone who is delivering essential services.

“My neighbour read about in on Facebook and told me,” Beveridge said. “I took it upon myself to phone people.”

At precisely 8:30 p.m., Dawnville Drive comes alive as people bang pots and pans, honk their car horns, and even sing O Canada. Beveridge estimated half the households are taking part, and she would love the others to join in.

Regent Avenue icon needs sprucing up

Hi Neighbour Sam is feeling a little worse for wear and needs to public’s help to bounce back.

The iconic figure welcoming people to Transcona was thought to need a good paint job, but a closer look has revealed more extensive work is required.

“Unfortunately, Hi Neighbour Sam requires more than just a paint job,” the Transcona Hi Neighbour Festival Committee said in a statement. “He needs to be moved from his location to be repaired, restored and painted. It is going to be an extensive job that will require time and money.”

Chairperson Ray Ulasy said two estimates to fully restore Hi Neighbour Sam came in at roughly $23,000 each. The committee is pursuing various grants and support from government and the business community to help cover the tab but the public’s help is also welcome.

This circle keeps growing and growing

As society adheres to social distancing and self-isolation guidelines during the pandemic, organizations and individuals are turning to technology to help each other.

Melissa Hiebert said she started The Circle, an online support group which meets at 4 p.m. on Saturdays. Six sessions in, The Circle has members from Canada, the United States, Europe and India.

“I called it The Circle, after the song Let the Circle Be Unbroken,” Hiebert explained.

“That song has great meaning to me because it sings about the importance of people sticking together. I’m a member of a 12-step recovery program, and that has changed my life, and has given me a community and fellowship of people that are like family, we can grow and learn together.”

Athletes in Action sports camps hope to operate

Should life return to at least a semblance of normalcy by summertime, you can count on Athletes in Action camps to keep kids busy all across Winnipeg, just as they have been for the past 25 years. The faith-based camps provide instruction in basketball, volleyball, soccer and multi-sport environments.

Dallas Williams has been at helm for the entire 25 years. A former police officer, Williams said his experiencing leading high-energy police officers was solid preparation for leading top-calibre amateur athletes.

Williams said he first got the idea to bring Athletes in Action camps to Winnipeg in 1985 when he worked at a Christian hockey camp headlined by then-Winnipeg Jets Doug Smail and Laurie Boschman.

“I had a fantastic time,” Williams recalled. “It opened my eyes to what could be done with kids.”

Unlucky 13th summer season for Buhler Park

Thirteen has indeed been an unlucky number for Buhler Recreation Park.

The popular recreation facility on Winnipeg’s eastern border has seen its plans upended for what was shaping up to be a big 13th year in business, facility manager Steve Mymko said.

Last fall’s challenging weather was a harbinger of this spring’s struggles, Mymko said. There was field damage and the cancellation of normally lucrative fall softball tournaments.

“That had us behind the eight-ball coming into this year,” Mymko said.

RETSD likely to defer grad until fall

School divisions across Manitoba are rewriting their playbooks for everything from graduation ceremonies to assessing grades.

In a letter dated April 23, River East Transcona School Division superintendent/CEO Kelly Barkman said the division is looking at “a high probability” of deferring graduation ceremonies to the fall.

“We know this will be a great disappointment to our many graduating students and their families who have looked forward to and planned for this significant event for quite some time,” Barkman wrote. “Please know we intend to make this celebration very special for the students and while it may be deferred, they have not been forgotten.”

Barkman said planning continues to determine how scholarships and bursaries will be presented.

Plenty of support available for Transcona seniors

As people can no longer gather like they could up until recently, they have to get a little more creative in order to pass the time and stay healthy

Transcona Council for Seniors resource co-ordinator Colleen Tackaberry said her organization offers plenty of online activities at transconaseniors.ca.

People can also stay fit while in the house.

“If people are online there are lots of exercise programs,” Tackaberry said.

Northeast news in brief

Tax preparation service available to Transcona seniors

The Transcona Council for Seniors is still available to help older adults with income tax preparation, resource coordinator Colleen Tackaberry said.

Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canada Revenue Agency has moved the deadline for submission of individual income tax returns to June 1. “Usually we operate free clinics at Access Transcona. We can’t this year, but our volunteers are still working,” Tackaberry said.

Those earning $35,000 per year or less as a single person or $45,000 per year or less as a couple are eligible for the free service, Tackaberry said. Call Access Transcona at 204-222-9879 for more information.

Local hoopsters shine bright

If the 2020 Basketball Manitoba Awards are any indication, northeast Winnipeg is a basketball hotbed.

Miles Macdonell Buckeye Madan Frolek was named the 2020  female winner  of Carl Ridd Award which honours a graduating player who stars in the classroom and the community, in addition to on the court. Frolek, who was selected also named a graduating AAAA all-star, earned a $500 scholarship with the Ridd award.

Frolek’s classmate Daren Watts was named to the Manitoba all-male team. The 6-2 small forward led the Buckeyes to a perfect 10-0 regular season record and a KPAC championship.

The King’s School’s Hope Dixon was named the AAA Female Player of the Year. The 5-8 Grade 11 forward helped the Knights to a 7-0 regular season record. Her coaches, Jo-Ann Leighton and Rachel Dixon, were named AAA girls coaches of the year.

Local football stars honoured by CJFL

A pair of local football players who starred at a national level have been recognized for their excellence with selections to the Canadian Junior Football League’s All-Decade team. The CJFL consists of three six-team conferences, with one each in British Columbia, the Prairies and Ontario.

Kildonan East alum Brad Mikuloff was selected as the squad’s lone punter. Mikuloff, who began his career with the East Side Eagles, earned 40 per cent of the votes. A two-time CJFL All-Canadian, Mikuloff averaged 39.6 yards per punt and registered 10 singles over his five years with the Winnipeg Rifles. Following his Rifles career Mikuloff joined the University of Manitoba Bisons where in 2017 he was named to the Canada West all-star team. In his final Bisons season, Mikuloff maintained a 43.8-yard average on punts and made 17 of 26 field goals.Mikuloff, just back from a shortened first professional season in Mexico, described the honour as surreal.

“I feel very honoured to be picked,” he said. “I can’t believe it really happened.”

Mikuloff watched the balloting, more so he could see how former teammates fared. As the last selection on the team, he said he had to wait to be surprised.

East Kildonan’s Kent soars on speedskating oval

Lindsey Kent continues to move up the competitive ladder in the world of speed skating. Competing in her first international competition, East Kildonan’s Kent, 24, was part of a team that won silver in the ladies team pursuit at the Four Continents speed skating championships in Milwaukee, Wisc., over the winter.

During the 2018-19 season, Kent, who now lives and trains in Calgary, moved up to Stage 4 with Speed Skate Canada, where she is part of the women’s middle- and long-distance training groups. That promotion has some exciting benefits, Kent admitted.

“I’m now part of the next-gen team for Team Canada, so I receive the Canada suit, and team clothing from Descente which is super exciting,” she said. “I also get some funding from the federal athlete assistance program which has been a huge help financially.”

In order to qualify for the Four Continents championships, Kent had to meet a time standard and be one of the top three skaters available to attend the meet. She achieved the latter, and while she fell one-hundredth of a second off the Speed Skate Canada recommended time, an exception was made.

Skating coach earns provincial honours

East St. Paul Skating Club coach Tanya Pilat has been recognized for her coaching excellence with a pair of honours from Sport Manitoba. Last month, Pilat was named female coach of the year and also earned the Dr. Jack Hunt Memorial Award.

Pilat’s coaching career dates back more than 30 years, to when she began serving at her hometown club in Elm Creek. At just 14, Pilat became Elm Creek’s coach and, as soon as she was eligible at 16, she began taking courses to become a professional coach.

“I have always loved working with children, and realized at an early age that my passion was not in competing but in working with other skaters,” Pilat said. “I always knew I wanted to continue my skating as a coach, helping other skaters achieve their goals and realize their potential.”

Pilat said she loves watching and working with skaters as they set and then achieve their goals. She also enjoys helping people do things they feared they could not.

Celebrating a low-key silver anniversary

While it hasn’t been the silver anniversary they envisioned, Riverwood Church Community still has much to be thankful for, senior pastor Todd Petkau said.

The church, which is located in the old firehall at 325 Talbot Ave., held its first service on Easter Sunday 1995 in the gym at Chief Peguis Junior High School.

Petkau said Riverwood’s roots date back to 1993 when a small group of people felt God’s calling to “plant”a new church. The feeling only grew, and in early 1995 they decided to proceed. Pekau and his wife were interviewed and hired by the budding church group one week before Easter, which made for a hectic seven days.

“Whereas most churches ,when they are planting these days, take a year or two to create your plant team and plant strategy, we did that in about a week,” Petkau said.

Mikoluff makes his name in Mexican football

Former East Side Eagle Brad Mikoluff had a memorable, albeit shortened, rookie season in professional football.As I wrote over the winter, Mikoluff, the Kildonan East alum who began playing football with the East Side Eagles, signed a contract with the Mexican Football League’s Monterrey Fundidores. The opportunity came thanks to a partnership between the Canadian Football League and the Mexican Liga de Football Americano Profesional which saw each Mexican team include two Canadians on their rosters.It was a different game down in Mexico, Mikoluff explained. It was American rules, so the field was smaller and there was one less player. That suited Mikoluff just fine, as he said it led to some crunching hits, which he has been known to make from time to time over the years. American kickers kick extra points and field goals off the ground, too, and he had to adjust to that. Things worked out well, as he nailed three of four field goals and six of eight extra points to help the Fundidores to a 3-2 record.That was before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the league and forced Mikoluff to come home sooner than he planned. It’s too bad, as he said he had a blast.“I had a great time down there,” Mikoluff said. “It was nice to learn a different game.”Mikoluff said his teammates were great and he made some friendships he hopes will last. Then there were the fans, who followed him on social media and asked for his autograph on the street.While his ultimate goal is to play in the CFL, Mikoluff said the Fundidores want him to return whenever play resumes, whether that be this year or next. It’s nice to have a solid option in a profession with so few openings.Mikoluff is also a candidate for the Canadian Junior Football League’s all-decade team, one of only three kickers from across Canada to earn the honour. Visit surveymonkey.com/r/CJFLAllDecadeTeam to vote for Mikuloff, along with Transcona’s Derek Yachison, who also made the list courtesy of his work in the BCFL. Tony Zerucha is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email him at tzerucha@gmail.com

Former East Side Eagle Brad Mikoluff had a memorable, albeit shortened, rookie season in professional football.

As I wrote over the winter, Mikoluff, the Kildonan-East alum who began playing football with the East Side Eagles, signed a contract with the Mexican Football League’s Monterrey Fundidores. The opportunity came thanks to a partnership between the Canadian Football League and the Mexican Liga de Football Americano Profesional which saw each Mexican team include two Canadians on their rosters.

It was a different game down in Mexico, Mikoluff explained. It was American rules, so the field was smaller and there was one less player. That suited Mikoluff just fine, as he said it led to some crunching hits, which he has been known to make from time to time over the years. American kickers kick extra points and field goals off the ground, too, and he had to adjust to that.

Know when to hold ’em and fold ’em

In the midst of the digital gaming revolution there is a growing community of Winnipeggers who are quite happy going old school, the founder of Folded Ace Game Productions recently told me.Harlen Card said he is a huge fan of all types of board games, going back to his youth, when Saturdays meant hanging out at Galaxy Comics and Collectibles on Henderson Highway, playing games and trading Pokemon cards with his friends. Now 28, Card has grown his passion into Folded Ace Game Productions, which helps people develop their own board games.Winnipeg’s board game community is growing and within it resides dozens of creative minds with excellent ideas for entertaining board games, Card said. But the game-creation process is a long, expensive one, beginning with developing an idea and continuing through repeated testing and refinement before one can even hope to get a board game company’s attention. Card knows a developer’s pain, because he has lived it himself. He is currently developing Debris Racer, a game in which you can add different options to your vehicle in your quest to win a race. Through research, Card has discovered companies wouldn’t even talk to you unless you have conducted at least 100 play tests of your concept. That can be a daunting task for people without networks of people, so Card began hosting events at which fellow developers and board game fans could gather and try out each other’s creations.“I’ve run into a few people testing their games now, and they’ve been really amazing games and really amazing people,” Card said. “But I’ve also noticed… maybe they don’t have the resources to go to these events and test their games, maybe they don’t have the social media network to keep inviting people.”Card’s response was Folded Ace Game Productions, an organization helping people to safely develop their games. Folded Ace helps people refine their concept, develop rules and take steps to protect their creation.“We do not expect people will bring to us a finished product,” Card explained. “The whole point of this is you bring something rough that is in need of testing.”Among Card’s innovations is the creation of a standard feedback form that enables game testers to log the information a game company will require when approached by a developer. If you have a game idea banging around in your head, Card has some advice. Start with clearly identifying the game’s core purpose, what you want players to accomplish. Keep the fun parts and ditch anything that creates resistance.“I want people to have a good time, I want people to develop a passion for games because there’s so many different types — everyone can find a game that they like,” Card concluded.Contact Card through the Folded Ace Game Productions’ Facebook page.  Tony Zerucha is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email him at tzerucha@gmail.com 

In the midst of the digital gaming revolution there is a growing community of Winnipeggers who are quite happy going old school, the founder of Folded Ace Game Productions recently told me.

Harlen Card said he is a huge fan of all types of board games, going back to his youth, when Saturdays meant hanging out at Galaxy Comics and Collectibles on Henderson Highway, playing games and trading Pokemon cards with his friends. 

Be vigilant at dog park

If you are a dog lover, one of the best places on earth is Kilcona Park. There are hundreds of acres available on which to walk your pooch, including a forest trail and the popular winter route on the retention pond ice, where you can hike all the way out to Harbourview and the golf course if you wish.I recently rediscovered Kilcona Park with my new border collie, Luke. My old dog, Reggie the rottweiler cross, died last January and he wasn’t up for many long walks, so we hadn’t been coming much.But with a new youngster dog in tow it made sense to return, as he needs large open spaces to burn off some of that energy (as I am too old and slow to keep up with him). The socialization is also good — for both of us. Both dog and owner have made new friends we look forward to seeing on our visits.Not everyone seems to like the place, however. There have been several reports of dogs eating poisoned or spoiled meat in the park, with some becoming quite sick. One man I walk with said he saw his dog grab something in the bulrushes on the southeast side of the ponds and was lucky enough to get most of it out of his mouth before the dog could swallow it. As a precaution he took his dog to the vet where they induced vomiting to prevent any further damage. Still, it was a traumatic experience for the entire family.Others haven’t been as fortunate. One woman I spoke with said her dog ate something early one morning and she couldn’t stop him in time. He became very ill and stayed that way for two weeks.From the people I spoke with a few trends have emerged. The incidents seem to happen early in the morning, and mostly occur on the southern and eastern parts of the ice path. Various types of raw or partially cooked meat are left in the bulrushes. Please be vigilant and if you see anything, bag it, throw it out in one of the many garbage cans, and notify both Winnipeg Police, who’ve opened a file on it, and the Kilcona Park Dog Club via its Facebook page. Kudos to the City of Winnipeg employees who have looked on the trails for poisoned meat. They do a great job of taking care of the park.Many people bring food and treats to share with the dogs, but please do not throw any away or leave it on the trails as these recent experiences have left many people on guard.Who knows what possesses someone to make them want to hurt or kill animals who bring joy to people. If you don’t like dogs, there are plenty of other places for you to walk. There aren’t for those of us who want to exercise our dogs.  Tony Zerucha is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email him at tzerucha@gmail.com

If you are a dog lover, one of the best places on earth is Kilcona Park. 

There are hundreds of acres available on which to walk your pooch, including a forest trail and the popular winter route on the retention pond ice, where you can hike all the way out to Harbourview and the golf course if you wish.

I recently rediscovered Kilcona Park with my new border collie, Luke. My old dog, Reggie the rottweiler cross, died last January and he wasn’t up for many long walks, so we hadn’t been coming much.

EK kicker turns pro in Mexican football league

Former Kildonan-East Collegiate student Brad Mikoluff is officially a professional football player.Mikoluff, a standout kicker for the Canadian Junior Football League’s Winnipeg Rifles before playing three seasons for the University of Manitoba Bisons, was selected in the inaugural draft of the LFA, Mexico’s professional football league.“I signed on with my agent Michael Hayes of NA3 Sports,” Mikoluff said. “Michael contacted me at the end of October in regards to the LFA and the draft that was going to happen. I was drafted on Nov. 1, 2019.”On Jan. 5, Mikoluff left to join the Monterrey Fundidores (Smelters), one of eight teams in the LFA, which was founded in 2016. The draft was held in partnership with the Canadian Football League, which is forming similar unions with leagues all around the world. Each LFA team can carry two non-Mexican players and fills out the rest of the roster by drafting players from one of two Mexican collegiate leagues. Former NFL star Chad “Ocho Cinco” Johnson once played for the Fundidores.Mikoluff said he will have to make some adjustments once down south.“They play by NFL rules so I will have to work at kicking off the ground for field goals and converts,” Mikoluff said. “However, Justin Medlock is my mentor and is helping me out with the change.”Throughout his career Mikoluff has also practised with the likes of Blue Bomber legend Bob Cameron, former Blue Bomber Mike Renaud, and CFL kickers Noel Prefontaine and Lirim Hajrullahu. He also took three trips to camps run by Ray Guy, the only punter in the NFL Hall of Fame. And he’s put in plenty of work on his own. I have been the Winnipeg Rifles’ official scorer for most of the past 15 years and saw Mikoluff nail kick after kick in all weather conditions from 2011 to 2015. He improved every year and wasn’t afraid to go downfield and make a booming tackle.The LFA season begins in early February, with the championship slated for May 17. Some games are available on regional Fox Sports channels, as the network is an LFA media partner.Tony Zerucha is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email him at tzerucha@gmail.com

Former Kildonan-East Collegiate student Brad Mikoluff is officially a professional football player.

Mikoluff, a standout kicker for the Canadian Junior Football League’s Winnipeg Rifles before playing three seasons for the University of Manitoba Bisons, was selected in the inaugural draft of the LFA, Mexico’s professional football league.

“I signed on with my agent Michael Hayes of NA3 Sports,” Mikoluff said. “Michael contacted me at the end of October in regards to the LFA and the draft that was going to happen. I was drafted on Nov. 1, 2019.”

Battling poor health with better nutrition

As the Christmas season gets into full swing and our hearts focus more on others, how many of us stop and ask ourselves what it truly means to help someone in need?Lee Ann Cheadle did just that a few years ago — and her answer changed how one of northeast Winnipeg’s busiest community-focused churches helps those who are less fortunate.Cheadle is program co-ordinator at The Garage, one of the buildings in Riverwood Church Community’s growing campus. Located at 274 Talbot Ave., The Garage hosts community drop-ins, food banks, Wednesday night dollar dinners and educational sessions.A few years ago, Cheadle began thinking about some of the persistent patterns she noticed among the patrons visiting The Garage.“As I’ve been in this role I’ve learned more about people with low incomes and the determinants of health and how low income is a factor in that,” Cheadle explained. “If you have a low income, that can help determine how healthy you and your family are.”Many of the regular guests lived with heart disease and diabetes, ailments strongly related to diet, as affordable food is often not healthy.“I saw the need and couldn’t not do something,” Cheadle explained. “People were coming for help and I began to question what help really is.”For Cheadle, the breaking point came one week when she went to the freezer to get food for some guests and found it was filled with pizza pops and toaster strudel. There were potato chips and pop nearby.“So many of these people have diabetes and heart disease,” Cheadle noted. “I’m handing it to them and they are trying to survive off of it. I just couldn’t do it anymore.”Cheadle researched how to transition The Garage from a food bank into a food centre, which takes a more holistic approach by offering its patrons not only food but related supports such as education and additional resources. She discovered Community Food Centres Canada, an organization that believes healthy food can be a transformative force in communities with low incomes.Little changes can make a big difference, Cheadle said. Gone are the pastries at snack time, replaced by vegetables and dip. And don’t look for a can of Pepsi, because you won’t find one. Those small changes improve dental hygiene, which plays a part in heart health, for example. All food provided is part of a healthier lifestyle.How did the adjustment period go?“It’s a mentality (change) over the past decade of charitable giving,” Cheadle noted.“That is also part of our story, not just changing the actual food but the mentality of what is helping. Are we here just to hand out edible products to say we filled a stomach or are we here to help human beings be healthy, thrive, and be part of our community?”It’s a delicate transition, as people are choosing to give out of kindness but change has taken place.“Once you explain and they hear the stories, they’re on board,” Cheadle concluded. Tony Zerucha is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email him at tzerucha@gmail.com 

As the Christmas season gets into full swing and our hearts focus more on others, how many of us stop and ask ourselves what it truly means to help someone in need?

Lee Ann Cheadle did just that a few years ago — and her answer changed how one of northeast Winnipeg’s busiest community-focused churches helps those who are less fortunate.

Gardening tips from neighbourhood experts

In addition to being great across-the-street neighbours to my parents, Chris and Linda Szturm are known for their beautiful yards, which are full of trees, bushes, perennials and annuals. It really brightens up the street.The Szturms are members of the East Kildonan Garden Club and are always learning something new about their favourite hobby.Linda and Chris are also generous with their time; so one day I asked them what we can do in the fall and over the winter to make the most of our summer.“The biggest thing I find is you have a nice yard, you have nice flowers and you don’t want to cut them down,” Chris began. “It’s such a short growing season.”But the time to cut your flowers down does come eventually, even if the weather plays havoc with our plans, as it has this year. The ideal situation is an early frost.“The frost is going to determine what you do in your garden right away,” Chris explained. “If you get a frost and everything is dead ,then you pull it out.”If that doesn’t happen you can begin by cutting back your perennials, fertilizing your lawn and removing other plants. While some people prefer to wait a little longer so fall moisture doesn’t seep into the stalks, Chris prefers to act sooner.“Leaving them up just attracts voles and mice so I like to cut them down. Plus, it makes it easier in the spring.”Linda and Chris harvest bulbs each fall. As they cut the plants they dig out the bulbs, clean them up and store them over the winter. If you want the best results, stage their transition by leaving the bulbs in the garage before moving them in the house, and before replanting them next spring, reverse so the process so the bulbs aren’t shocked. In between, store them in a box at room temperature and cover them with a towel so they are protected from the light. In mid-February, take the bulbs out, expose them to light, wait a month or so until they perk up and plant them in warm soil and keep under lights for 14 hours every day.You can also split perennials so they don’t grow too large and now is the perfect time, Linda said. Pull out the big root and cut the bulb in two or four pieces. Them move them around to your preferred location to change the look of your yard.Other good tips include reusing your potting soil. Because of the size of their garden, Linda and Chris can have as many as 12 garbage bins full of potting soil and that can get expensive to replace each year. So each fall they store the soil in the garage or shed and perk it up with some 10-10-10 mix, bone meal and vermiculite. Linda and Chris also harvest seeds.“You can do that through the summer but you want to let the seed pods dry and then you can harvest them and take them inside for the winter,” Linda said.Tony Zerucha is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email him at tzerucha@gmail.com

In addition to being great across-the-street neighbours to my parents, Chris and Linda Szturm are known for their beautiful yards, which are full of trees, bushes, perennials and annuals. It really brightens up the street.

The Szturms are members of the East Kildonan Garden Club and are always learning something new about their favourite hobby.

Linda and Chris are also generous with their time; so one day I asked them what we can do in the fall and over the winter to make the most of our summer.

Steski boys a chip off the old curling rock

The combination of good genes, great coaching and a strong work ethic have Luke and Jack Steski poised to become curling stars.Luke,16, and Jack,14, are continuing the family business, whereby if your last name is Steski, you’ll find yourself in the hack at some point. Their father, Dean, has competed in two Manitoba championships. Uncle Dannie Steski has reached the United States national championships and a cousin, Peter, is a mainstay in Ontario curling circles. Luke, Jack, Dannie and Dean joined forces this summer to finish second in an international bonspiel in Cape Cod, Mass.Luke and Jack are working hard to perfect their games. On Thursday nights they play on a team with Dean and hope to represent River East Collegiate in the Kildonan Peguis Athletic Conference league this fall. They play in St. Vital Curling Club’s Sunday junior program and a men’s league with junior teammates Andrew and Matthew McKay. “We’re on the ice five or six times per week,”said Jack, who plays third. “We’re pretty busy and we have bonspiels every third week.”Luke, who skips, said their games have improved because they’ve been taught by the best, including Reid Carruthers and Mike McEwen.“I think a big help to what made us improve as curlers was participating at Connie Laliberte’s high performance camps,” Luke said. “That is where we met the McKays.”The Steskis aren’t afraid to challenge themselves, according to their mother, Maria Mendes. Mendes, who was a key player on Miles Mac’s dominant field hockey teams of the late 1980s (and who was also a pretty good sponge hockey player) said the boys, who were eligible for the U15 last year, decided to enter U18 and U21 bonspiels.“It’s neat,” she said. “Last year was their first year together and they made the U18 provincials.”“Dad says playing against older and better competition is the best way to improve,” Luke said.When it comes to strategy, do Jack and Luke “discuss” strategy or take the game home with them? They leave it at the rink, but make the most of their time there, Luke said.“There’s lots of chatter.”“Basically I try and stay out of his way,” Jack said. “I tell him my opinion, what options I see and ask him which one he wants to do.”Even though they have met some of Manitoba curling’s elite, Luke and Jack said their biggest influence is still father Dean.“Everything we know is from our dad,” Jack said. “He points out things other teams are doing that we should be doing, little things that we’re doing that we probably shouldn’t be doing.” “He’s taught me all the strategy I know,” Luke added.One tip in particular has made perhaps the biggest difference. “He taught us not to copy his slide,” Jack said with a grin. “He’s a little wobbly.”Tony Zerucha is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email him at tzerucha@gmail.com

The combination of good genes, great coaching and a strong work ethic have Luke and Jack Steski poised to become curling stars.

Luke, 16, and Jack, 14, are continuing the family business, whereby if your last name is Steski, you’ll find yourself in the hack at some point. Their father, Dean, has competed in two Manitoba championships. Uncle Dannie Steski has reached the United States national championships and a cousin, Peter, is a mainstay in Ontario curling circles. Luke, Jack, Dannie and Dean joined forces this summer to finish second in an international bonspiel in Cape Cod, Mass.

Luke and Jack are working hard to perfect their games. On Thursday nights they play on a team with Dean and hope to represent River East Collegiate in the Kildonan Peguis Athletic Conference league this fall. They play in St. Vital Curling Club’s Sunday junior program and a men’s league with junior teammates Andrew and Matthew McKay. 

Benches shouldn’t be left to deteriorate

We’re in the midst of a beautiful summer and people are flocking to the parks. I live near Fraser’s Grove Park and it is filled with children on the playground, people fishing, dog walkers and joggers. It’s a popular place.There are also benches throughout the park, which are well-used by people visiting with each other, eating ice cream, or even listening to the music from across the river at Kildonan Park. But did you know that not all benches are created equal?Some benches the City of Winnipeg places in the park. The older versions are the green ones made from wood, while the newer ones are made with high-density polyethylene consisting of 90 percent post-consumer waste. Others are donated by people, often in memory of a loved one who enjoyed the park. They usually have a plaque noting the person’s name along with a short message.How well those benches are maintained depends on who paid to put the bench there. If it’s the City of Winnipeg, they’ll be repaired, though you may have to phone them first if they don’t notice. If the bench was donated, maintenance has a shelf life.According to the City of Winnipeg’s website, a donated bench costs $1,500 with the plaque costing extra. Included in the fee is maintenance for “at least 10 years”. The website notes the newer benches last much longer than 10 years and require little maintenance. That’s probably true, though time well tell.The older benches definitely don’t last 10 years and require board replacement and painting. A check in Fraser’s Grove Park shows a few donated benches of the older variety, some with cracked or broken boards and in need of repair. Will the City of Winnipeg fix them? It depends. I’ve emailed 311 about some damaged benches and happened to be in the park when crews came to look at them. I mentioned to one worker of another bench needing attention and he said they would have to look at when the bench was donated, for if it was longer than 10 years ago they don’t have to fix it unless the donor pays extra.That raises a few questions. Parks need benches, regardless of who pays for them to be there. If the City of Winnipeg gets a 10-year break on purchase and installation through the donation, can’t they take over in the 11th year?A friend of mine passed the hat many years ago to install a bench in a park as a tribute to an old friend. All of the supporters have either died or moved away and she was left wondering if the bench purchased in her friend’s memory would be left to fall into  ruin like others in the park.The answer? It depends. They shouldn’t simply be left in limbo. That makes no sense.  Tony Zerucha is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email him at tzerucha@gmail.com

We’re in the midst of a beautiful summer and people are flocking to the parks. I live near Fraser’s Grove Park and it is filled with children on the playground, people fishing, dog walkers and joggers. It’s a popular place.

There are also benches throughout the park, which are well-used by people visiting with each other, eating ice cream, or even listening to the music from across the river at Kildonan Park. But did you know that not all benches are created equal?

Some benches the City of Winnipeg places in the park. The older versions are the green ones made from wood, while the newer ones are made with high-density polyethylene consisting of 90 percent post-consumer waste. Others are donated by people, often in memory of a loved one who enjoyed the park. They usually have a plaque noting the person’s name along with a short message.

Finding one’s purpose can drive success

I was recently in San Diego at Appian World, a conference focusing on how automation is changing business. While I learned many interesting things, what I want to share with you today are highlights from a question and answer session with tennis legend Andre Agassi, who challenged us to revisit how we define success.The youngest of four children, Agassi was raised by a father who came to America at 18 not knowing a word of English. He decided his kids would be world beaters at tennis and pushed them hard, making them hit 2,000 balls a day. One by one the kids’ careers plateaued, leaving Andre, who was talented but also a hard worker.“I knew at four I wanted to be the best in the world,” Agassi said. “If I could choose 100 times between hard work and talent I would choose hard work every day.”At 13, Agassi moved to a tennis academy in Florida where he improved his game but at a high price. Already wondering whether tennis greatness was his father’s goal or his, own Agassi’s doubts only grew in an environment that only cared about the tennis and not the person. He pushed himself, not just because of the tennis, but to get out of there.“The only way out of there was to win and fear can be a hell of a motivator,” Agassi said. “The two greatest motivators in life are fear and love.”That experience led him to turn pro at 16, without a clue of who he was inside. Others defined his identity for him, hoping make money off marketing the teen sensation. Agassi assumed the role of the rebel and outcast. Fans liked it but his fellow players did not, which left him even more alone.Agassi cried when he won Wimbledon but he said they were tears of pain along with hope that he could feel better some day. After reaching his goal of being the best player in the world, he said he began a downward spiral that included drugs, a bad marriage, and a drop to 141st in the world in two years.It was at the bottom that Agassi’s life changed forever. He saw a 60 Minutes story on KIP charter schools, where children’s lives are changed through education. Agassi decided to act, taking out a $40 million mortgage to open a charter school of his own in the poorest section of Las Vegas. To pay that mortgage back, he had to start winning fast.“This was my reason for being out there,” Agassi said. “My journey back was fuelled by my passion for creating choice for children who didn’t have any.”Agassi was thus driven by something more important than the sport. Today he is starting more schools and has raised more than $1 billion from the private sector over the past seven years to do more.“My goal is to prove that kids don’t fail us,” Agassi said. “We fail them.”His long road began with an idea and would have stopped there if life hadn’t prepared him for this moment.“Epiphanies are overrated. It’s what we do with them that defines our lives,” Agassi concluded.Tony Zerucha is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email him at tzerucha@gmail.com

I was recently in San Diego at Appian World, a conference focusing on how automation is changing business. While I learned many interesting things, what I want to share with you today are highlights from a question and answer session with tennis legend Andre Agassi, who challenged us to revisit how we define success.

The youngest of four children, Agassi was raised by a father who came to America at 18 not knowing a word of English. He decided his kids would be world beaters at tennis and pushed them hard, making them hit 2,000 balls a day. One by one the kids’ careers plateaued, leaving Andre, who was talented but also a hard worker.

“I knew at four I wanted to be the best in the world,” Agassi said. “If I could choose 100 times between hard work and talent I would choose hard work every day.”

Keep ’em laughin’ — and give back

Even with a busy touring schedule and an album coming out, North Kildonan-raised comedian Jordan Welwood finds time to give back.I caught up with him at Comedy Night with Big Daddy Tazz, a fundraising and awareness event for a pair of causes — the Andrew Dunn Organization, a group established to help educate and create awareness of mental health issues and suicide, as well as anti-bullying initiatives in schools.Now in his early 30s, Welwood was studying film with an eye towards comedies a decade ago when his career plans took a mild shift.“I realized I was bad at acting so I stumbled my way into standup,” Welwood said. Welwood then began grinding it out, attending open mic nights and honing his act, which he describes of a mix of observational humour and talking about his own life. He credits Rumor’s Restaurant & Comedy Club for helping nurture his career. Welwood began hosting shows there before progressing to his own performances.“The first time I went there I realized we had this amazing place in our city and I was blown away by seeing live comedy there,” Welwood said. “It’s a dream realized, starting to host there then headlining.”Welwood’s career continues to grow. He has appeared at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal and is putting the finishing touches on his own album, which he is also editing, mastering and designing.“I’m creating it from top to bottom and I’m pretty proud of that,” Welwood admitted.Even with such a busy schedule, Welwood said he jumped at the chance to share a stage with Big Daddy Tazz.“Tazz has been an OG Manitoba comic that’s been around forever and I’ve had the chance to work with him,” Welwood said. “He’s always involved in great charities, so anytime I can come on and lend something to the night I am happy too. Doing comedy shows all over the province is fun but when you know it’s going to a good cause it’s an added bonus.”Tazz said Welwood is a substantial talent.“Jordan’s impressive right from the very first time I saw him on stage probably six years ago at Rumor’s. A lot of guys were going the dirtier route, the easier route. He was super clever and always made me laugh. He’s always impressed me as a pro, right from the very beginning.”Tony Zerucha is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email him at tzerucha@gmail.com

Even with a busy touring schedule and an album coming out, North Kildonan-raised comedian Jordan Welwood finds time to give back.

I caught up with him at Comedy Night with Big Daddy Tazz, a fundraising and awareness event for a pair of causes — the Andrew Dunn Organization, a group established to help educate and create awareness of mental health issues and suicide, as well as anti-bullying initiatives in schools.

Now in his early 30s, Welwood was studying film with an eye towards comedies a decade ago when his career plans took a mild shift.

Former Bombers lineman will be missed

Most of the time all we ever know about our local pro athletes is what we read or see on television. Their impact is distant, limited to their performance on the field and how it makes us feel in the moment.But occasionally a player immerses him or herself in the community and influences dozens of lives for the better. I saw it many times in my volunteer work with the Winnipeg Rifles Junior Football Club. Active and former members of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers such as Jamie Stoddard and Moe Elewonibi spent many hours coaching young football players. Canadian women’s national team soccer player Desiree Scott always finds time to spend with young players, too.When these players leave the community, their loss is more personally felt by those whose lives they’ve touched. That must be how many youth in northeast Winnipeg must feel now that Matthias Goossen has retired. The former (it’s still hard to say that) Blue Bomber star is moving back home to British Columbia to become a police officer, a role in which he can keep serving the community.While he was here, Matthias served as a youth group leader at Riverwood Church, regularly giving his time to talk with kids about their Christian faith or life as a teenager or young adult. He was one of them — sitting in the middle of a large group during services and hanging out with them after church and during the week. You could tell he enjoyed it as much as they did.Matthias also volunteered with various youth sports programs and countless other initiatives, not just in Winnipeg but across southern Manitoba. I often heard of him speaking to youth groups in different towns.These athletes know they are fortunate to have the opportunity to succeed. With that they sense a responsibility to others. And it doesn’t take much. Many years ago I was a bench coach with the Winnipeg Cyclone basketball team. On our off-days we’d visit Children’s Hospital or shoot hoops with children in a treatment centre. Even though we weren’t there for that long, we brought a few smiles to their faces. A few years ago I got to tour China with another basketball team and I spent time before the games high-fiving the kids and saying what I was told was hello in Mandarin. Half a world away, same smiles.So I know from personal experience that a little effort from a public figure such as someone associated with a sports team can makes someone’s life better, if even for a moment. Matthias Goossen made many lives better in our community and he will be missed.  Tony Zerucha is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email him at tzerucha@gmail.com

Most of the time all we ever know about our local pro athletes is what we read or see on television. Their impact is distant, limited to their performance on the field and how it makes us feel in the moment.

But occasionally a player immerses him or herself in the community and influences dozens of lives for the better. I saw it many times in my volunteer work with the Winnipeg Rifles Junior Football Club. Active and former members of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers such as Jamie Stoddard and Moe Elewonibi spent many hours coaching young football players. Canadian women’s national team soccer player Desiree Scott always finds time to spend with young players, too.

When these players leave the community, their loss is more personally felt by those whose lives they’ve touched. 

Buckeyes class of ’89 plans reunion

For one night only, Bronx Park Community Centre will be transformed into Paradise City when Miles Macdonell Collegiate’s class of ’89 reunites for the It’s not 1989 anymore social on Fri., June 7. The social is part of a reunion weekend that will also school tours on Sat., June 8 (spoiler alert: They’ve moved the lunch room and the old student council office is no longer there). All proceeds will fund the Spirit of the Class of 1989 award, a scholarship for a member of the class of 2019.Thanks to social media, tickets are moving fast, said organizing committee member Jacquie Johnson-Weight.“We have a few coming from Flin Flon, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Landenberg, Penn., and Cambridge, Mass., to name a few.”The music will be top-notch and will make you think you’re back in Mr. Skinner’s French class. Buckeye alum Gordon Corrigal is one of Winnipeg’s busiest DJs through Body Bounce Productions and promises to have everyone out on the dance floor busting a move.“I will be sure hitting all the late ’80s and ’90s classics,” Corrigal said.Corrigal said the committee is collecting photos to be added to a slide show that will play at the social. Email them to mmreunion2019@shaw.ca.What you don’t know is the ticket price. They are $10 straight up and can be purchased by emailing mmrenuion2019@shaw.caSomeone will be there for you to answer questions but you can also get tickets from organizing committee members Johnson-Weight, Corrigal, Pam (Imhof) Kreis, Alison Lynch Deighton, Stephen Maruschak, Dana Lawrence or Cam Mitchell.If you weren’t a member of the class of 1989 but attended Miles Mac around that time or were otherwise part of the scene back then, you are welcome to attend.“This social is open to everyone,” Corrigal said. “Class of whatever from whatever school.  We as a group just wanted to get everyone together and thought why not a good ol’ Winnipeg social.”Even though the social isn’t for a few months, Johnson said excitement is already building.“I have reconnected with a few individuals who have been out of touch and its been great so far,” she said. “I am looking forward to reconnecting with friends and classmates  who have moved away and haven’t been back to Winnipeg in a long time. Looking forward to hearing  if they are married, have kids, (are) living their dreams.”Johnson-Weight said teachers and other staff from that period are also welcome to join in the fun. Contact the organizing committee to make arrangements.Tony Zerucha is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email him at tzerucha@gmail.com 

For one night only, Bronx Park Community Centre will be transformed into Paradise City when Miles Macdonell Collegiate’s class of ’89 reunites for the It’s not 1989 anymore social on Fri., June 7. 

The social is part of a reunion weekend that will also school tours on Sat., June 8 (spoiler alert: They’ve moved the lunch room and the old student council office is no longer there). All proceeds will fund the Spirit of the Class of 1989 award, a scholarship for a member of the class of 2019.

Enjoying our own little winter wonderland

Those of us living between Henderson Highway and the Red River like to brag about how Fraser’s Grove Park and Kildonan Drive are our little secret. In the summer the street comes alive with dog walkers, joggers, cyclists and people enjoying ice cream from one of the nearby shops.The area takes on a life of its own every winter, too. The little hills are perfect for tiny sledders to make their first run. The City of Winnipeg floods a skating rink and erects a small toboggan run which they also flood for extra fun. Look for that in the easternmost section of the park.People are making good use of the Red River this year. A group from Scotia Street across the river cleared a large-size rink and souped it up with hockey nets, Christmas trees, flood lights, hay bales and a sound system. The only time I heard music playing it was rap but to each their own, I guess.Further down the river, a different group made their own curling rink complete with stones. It looked like it saw some action around Christmas.The Red River is also popular with cross-country skiers. There are several different pathways, some near the banks and others right across the middle. Some local skiers, in search of variety, switch between Frasers Grove Park, the Red River, and Kildonan Park, which is conveniently located a sort trip across the ice.Some of my neighbours like skiing on the river at night. When the sky is clear, the moon lights your way. It is especially bright after a fresh snow.Humans aren’t the only ones enjoying the area either. I’ve seen hawks and eagles flying overhead. Squirrels and rabbits abound (could explain some of the birds). Come early in the morning or late at night and you may catch a glimpse of a deer, raccoon, fox or even a coyote, either in the park itself or walking on the riverbank. I stick to walking the dogs through the park and along the riverbank. Because I walk at the same time most days, I have befriended several other dog walkers who share my routine. It’s a great way to start the day before heading off to work.Tony Zerucha is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email him at tzerucha@gmail.com

Those of us living between Henderson Highway and the Red River like to brag about how Fraser’s Grove Park and Kildonan Drive are our little secret. In the summer the street comes alive with dog walkers, joggers, cyclists and people enjoying ice cream from one of the nearby shops.

The area takes on a life of its own every winter, too. The little hills are perfect for tiny sledders to make their first run. The City of Winnipeg floods a skating rink and erects a small toboggan run which they also flood for extra fun. Look for that in the easternmost section of the park.

People are making good use of the Red River this year. A group from Scotia Street across the river cleared a large-size rink and souped it up with hockey nets, Christmas trees, flood lights, hay bales and a sound system. The only time I heard music playing it was rap but to each their own, I guess.

Good neighbours are invaluable

It pays to have good neighbours. I do, and because I do I got to share in one of those special moments that reminds us all about what we should aspire to in life and how we should conduct ourselves as human beings.My neighbour Ralph Kraychuk recently turned 95, and family came in from all across North America to honour him with a surprise dinner at Rae and Jerry’s. Forty of us got to share a good meal and swap stories about the man of the hour.Ralph has lived in his home for more than 60 years, literally seeing East Kildonan develop around him. He and his beloved wife Trudy, who recently passed away, raised three kids, all of whom shared some of the lessons they learned from their Dad.• Think of others before yourself and invest in their lives — Sherry, Terry and Rob all talked about how devoted their father was to them and their mother. His impact was clear, particularly in career choices, as they have all opted to care for others. Sherry is a critical care nurse, Terry a priest and Rob trains firefighters.Ralph is still having an impact on his family.“I know I speak for my brother and sister, when I say I still know I can call him at any time, and how much it means when he picks up the phone,” Rob said.• Kindness goes a long way — Rob shared a story that he never once heard his father curse or say a bad word about anybody. Best he could come up with was instance where he said “darn” at a family wedding.• Learn to laugh at yourself — A couple of funny stories were shared about him and no one laughed harder at them than Ralph himself.• Treat yourself to some of the finer things in life — All summer long we are treated to the smell of barbecue coming from Ralph’s yard along with sound of Eagles’ Greatest Hits. Good rock ’n’ roll never goes out of style.• Care for your loved ones and they’ll never be too far away —  Even though Ralph’s relatives live in California, New York, Florida, Alberta and Northern Canada, there always seems to be a car pulling up with someone coming for a visit. I can tell one is coming because I’ll often catch Ralph on the way to Sobey’s.“I’m off to get a side of beef — the kids are coming,” he’ll usually say.Because I have a home office I’ll often bump into Ralph throughout the day as I am walking the dog or getting the mail. If I’m lucky, Ralph will be coming or going and we’ll get a chance to discuss the latest Jets or Bombers game. I look forward to those conversations and can only imagine how much they mean to his family.Tony Zerucha is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email him at tzerucha@gmail.com

It pays to have good neighbours. I do, and because I do I got to share in one of those special moments that reminds us all about what we should aspire to in life and how we should conduct ourselves as human beings.

My neighbour Ralph Kraychuk recently turned 95, and family came in from all across North America to honour him with a surprise dinner at Rae and Jerry’s. Forty of us got to share a good meal and swap stories about the man of the hour.

Ralph has lived in his home for more than 60 years, literally seeing East Kildonan develop around him. He and his beloved wife Trudy, who recently passed away, raised three kids, all of whom shared some of the lessons they learned from their Dad.

New Polson principal loves school’s spirit

Even though he’s still settling into the principal’s chair, Dino Busceti already knows Polson School is a special place.Busceti is the new principal at the kindergarten to Grade 5 school on Munroe Avenue, moving over from Transcona Collegiate, where he was vice principal for the past three years.Every person involved with Polson School cares about what happens there, Busceti said, and that begins with the parents.“The people in the community really care about their school, they care about education.”The staff care just as much, and it shows as soon as you walk in the front door. Maintenance staff keep the hallways and rooms especially clean. Teaching staff care about every one of the 125 students, whether they instruct them or not, Busceti said.“The teachers display an amazing team component. Whether its assemblies or special events or regular classroom work the teachers work as a team and collaborate on many initiatives.“Every student is everyone’s responsibility.”There is one class for each grade, so many students will leave Polson having spent six years together, Busceti said. When new students arrive, they are quickly welcomed. too.“Those new kids really find their place,” Busceti observed. “Everyone’s really friendly and new students feel welcome here.”Fall is a busy time of year at Polson, as staff and students prepare for Remembrance Day services and Christmas events, but those aren’t the only things that make Polson special, Busceti said. The school’s Green Thumbs program teaches children about gardening and raising vegetables. Seedlings are nurtured over the winter and planted in spring. Staff and volunteers nurture them over the summer and the entire school celebrates the harvest in the fall.“It’s a very special program here,” Busceti said. “My first week here in September it really floored me. When you talk about traditions and what makes a school what it is I think our Green Thumbs program is something that kids really cherish. I know our staff cherish it.”Once the vegetables are harvested students, staff and community members make soup and apple desserts and have a feast. Students also make grape jelly they will be selling at this year’s Christmas concert.The entire process, from planting to harvest, teaches the students one of the many valuable lessons Busceti hopes they will take with them throughout their lives.“The kids see things from the first step all the way through the process and have that sense of accomplishment and celebration in the end,” Busceti concluded.  Tony Zerucha is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email him at tzerucha@gmail.com

Even though he’s still settling into the principal’s chair, Dino Busceti already knows Polson School is a special place.

Busceti is the new principal at the kindergarten to Grade 5 school on Munroe Avenue, moving over from Transcona Collegiate, where he was vice principal for the past three years.

Every person involved with Polson School cares about what happens there, Busceti said, and that begins with the parents.

Holodomor remembered in the city

Even though it has been 85 years since the Holodomor famine killed as many as seven million people, Winnipeg’s Ukrainian community is doing a good job of ensuring the memories of history never fade.

There will be many events of remembrance in the coming week, including an evening of prayer and remembrance at Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Catholic Church (505 Watt St.) on Sat., Nov. 24 at 6 p.m. A requiem prayer, video, reflection and performance by the Macenko Memorial Male Choir will be followed by a lighting of memorial candles and a ringing of the church bells at precisely 7:32 p.m.

The mother of East Kildonan resident Peter Manastyrsky lived through the Holodomor as a child in Dnepropetvovsk, Ukraine.

 “Talking to my mother, what she experienced was just terrifying,” Manastyrsky said.

Business and life advice from a rock legend

A few times each year I am fortunate enough to be invited to cover business conferences in different parts of the world and report on how technology is impacting those industries.My latest opportunity took me to Barcelona, Spain, to cover Magento, a company developing e-commerce websites for clients. What made the trip memorable, aside from the night I had off when I explored downtown, enjoyed some tapas and had an Estrella or two, was a keynote speech from a legend of heavy metal I have listened to for more than 30 years.Bruce Dickinson is the lead singer of Iron Maiden, who hit it big in the 1980s with hits including Run to the Hills, Aces High and 2 Minutes to Midnight. The band is still going but that hasn’t stopped Dickinson from developing a web of business interests that has grown to include airplanes, watches, beer and more.While most in the crowd were business people, Dickinson’s advice is effective in both business and life in general. His first lesson was to be true to yourself, know what is important to you and never compromise. Dickinson said he was once approached to produce an Iron Maiden wine. Those of you familiar with the band will know how funny that is. “Iron Maiden is more in the beer vein,” Dickinson told the salesman. “Fine,” the salesman said, telling him that they could bottle any old junk, slap the Iron Maiden logo on it and make a killing. Dickinson passed but then sought out a brewer willing to develop a quality brew and the result is a great beer with a solid following.It pays to think outside the box, too. Dickinson is also an airline pilot who has flown hundreds of trips around the world and his familiarity with that business led to a great publicity opportunity.Realizing that the band would be touring during summer in one part of the world, he approached an airline that would be spending as much as $500,000 per month to store its planes in hangars during its winter season. The band leased one of the jets, covered it in Iron Maiden logos, named it Ed Force One (after the band’s mascot) and toured with Dickinson at the controls. The plane itself generated extensive publicity and everyone was happy.Always hear out an interesting idea, even if it sounds strange at first, Dickinson said, then described how he became involved with edible drones. Yes, you read that right. A guy pitched the singer in a bar and even brought a sample. The drones are designed to deliver food to people immediately after disasters in hard-to-access remote areas. They can carry up to 50 pounds of food and can be eaten themselves.The best stories often come from unexpected places, and this was one of them.Tony Zerucha is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email him at tzerucha@gmail.com

A few times each year I am fortunate enough to be invited to cover business conferences in different parts of the world and report on how technology is impacting those industries.

My latest opportunity took me to Barcelona, Spain, to cover Magento, a company developing e-commerce websites for clients. What made the trip memorable, aside from the night I had off when I explored downtown, enjoyed some tapas and had an Estrella or two, was a keynote speech from a legend of heavy metal I have listened to for more than 30 years.

Bruce Dickinson is the lead singer of Iron Maiden, who hit it big in the 1980s with hits including Run to the Hills, Aces High and 2 Minutes to Midnight. The band is still going but that hasn’t stopped Dickinson from developing a web of business interests that has grown to include airplanes, watches, beer and more.

Turkey trot to raise money for kitchen

Elmwood community pastor Jon Courtney wants everyone to take a gander at Riverwood Church Community’s next event.Taking place on Sat., Oct. 6, Riverwood’s Turkey Trot is a fun run with the goal of raising $50,000 towards to installation of a new commercial kitchen. Registration begins at 9 a.m. and the run starts at 10 a.m. Runners will make a loop beginning at Elmwood’s Ernie O’Dowda Park before enjoying shared festivities and celebrations.The kitchen is located in The Garage at 274 Talbot Ave. One of the five buildings in the Riverwood campus, it is a hive of activity, as it houses the community’s food bank and drop-in centre, Courtney said.“We serve hundreds every week through our food bank as we help those in our community make ends meet. Multiple community meals are shared in our drop-in providing everyone with a place to belong. We work towards empowering through cooking courses, opportunities to contribute, catering services, and workshops.“We are operating out of a building donated to us 15 years ago and working out of a residential scale, deteriorating kitchen that needs to be upgraded and expanded into a full commercial kitchen in order to keep up with our programming and the need.”The first step to realizing that goal is the Turkey Trot, where people can walk or run two, seven, or four kilometres (in recognition of the 274 Talbot address). Participants are asked to collect pledges over the next few weeks. Visit myturkeytrot.com to make a donation, create a team, and to get tools that can help you share your campaign with the world on Facebook or Instagram.The Garage hosts community support programs and cooking classes, but the place really comes alive on Wednesdays from 6:30-8 p.m. and Thursdays from noon to 2 p.m., Courtney said. That is when people from the community can come for a hot meal and receive food support to help through the week. In between, most stay to socialize with neighbours they may not otherwise meet, providing those most at risk of being left behind with the opportunity for contact with others.On a weekend when many of us will be gathering with our loved ones and giving thanks for the various harvests in our lives, Courtney urges you to make a difference for those in need with just a few clicks.“A place to belong, that is the phrase imprinted on our aprons and walls,” Courtney said. “A new kitchen will go a long way in helping us to meet the needs of our neighbourhood and in providing even more people with a place to call their own.”Tony Zerucha is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email him at tzerucha@gmail.com

Elmwood community pastor Jon Courtney wants everyone to take a gander at Riverwood Church Community’s next event.

Taking place on Sat., Oct. 6, Riverwood’s Turkey Trot is a fun run with the goal of raising $50,000 towards to installation of a new commercial kitchen. Registration begins at 9 a.m. and the run starts at 10 a.m. Runners will make a loop beginning at Elmwood’s Ernie O’Dowda Park before enjoying shared festivities and celebrations.

The kitchen is located in The Garage at 274 Talbot Ave. One of the five buildings in the Riverwood campus, it is a hive of activity, as it houses the community’s food bank and drop-in centre, Courtney said.

Hockey season brings thoughts of “Uncle” Ted

Every year around this time I start getting geared up for hockey season and always look back to a childhood spent hearing stories about Ted Harris, who won five Stanley Cups during an NHL career that ran from 1963-64 to 1974-75.“Uncle” Ted was a friend of my father’s who grew up on Jamison Avenue. They spent plenty of time together over the years; my parents visited him during his playing days in Montreal and later when he played for and coached the Minnesota North Stars. Whether after one of those trips, or when Uncle Ted came over to visit, my brother and I would hound him and my dad for stories about his playing days.After nearly eight full minor-league seasons spent mostly in the AHL with Springfield, Harris got into four games at the end of the Habs’ 1963-64 season. He stuck in the NHL for good the next season, when Montreal ended a four-year drought to capture the Stanley Cup. He went on to hold the cup four times over the next six seasons, highlighted by the 1968-69 season when he made the year-end second-team all-star team and finished fourth in Norris Trophy balloting.The Canadiens had plenty of colorful characters in that era, from legends such as Jean Beliveau and Henri Richard, to emerging stars such as Tony Esposito and Rogie Vachon. They also had characters like Terry Harper (never won a fight, my dad said, but he always answered the bell), Gump Worsley and John Ferguson, with whom Harris roomed for the majority of his Canadiens career.When Harris and Worsley moved on to Minnesota, it was always interesting when the North Stars played the Habs. One time Fergie was deep in Minnesota’s end and as the play moved back the other way, he gave a bit of a slew foot to Worsley, which brought quite the response from Worsley’s wife, who made sure Fergie heard. Fergie turned around and smiled right at her on his return to the bench.Harris spent the three-and-a-half seasons with the young North Stars, helping them to the playoffs in each of his three full seasons there. In 1970-71 he even earned a few Hart Trophy votes. Even though he played less than 300 games in Minnesota, Harris left quite the impression, as he made many all-time North Star teams over the years.Early in the 73-74 season, Harris was traded to Detroit and the on to the St. Louis Blues. He only spent 24 games in St. Louis, but hockey card buffs will recall his image being placed on Ted Irvine’s hockey card the following year.Harris’ career was winding down but he ended it in style, capturing his fifth Stanley Cup as a member of the famed Broad Street Bullies Philadelphia Flyers. After a one-year retirement, Harris was hired to coach the Minnesota North Stars, coaching them for 99 games before being fired. The following season he returned to Springfield, where his career began 22 years earlier, to coach their AHL team.Tony Zerucha is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email him at tzerucha@gmail.com

Every year around this time I start getting geared up for hockey season and always look back to a childhood spent hearing stories about Ted Harris, who won five Stanley Cups during an NHL career that ran from 1963-64 to 1974-75.

“Uncle” Ted was a friend of my father’s who grew up on Jamison Avenue. They spent plenty of time together over the years; my parents visited him during his playing days in Montreal and later when he played for and coached the Minnesota North Stars. Whether after one of those trips, or when Uncle Ted came over to visit, my brother and I would hound him and my dad for stories about his playing days.

After nearly eight full minor-league seasons spent mostly in the AHL with Springfield, Harris got into four games at the end of the Habs’ 1963-64 season. He stuck in the NHL for good the next season, when Montreal ended a four-year drought to capture the Stanley Cup. He went on to hold the cup four times over the next six seasons, highlighted by the 1968-69 season when he made the year-end second-team all-star team and finished fourth in Norris Trophy balloting.

Collecting memories while travelling

Now that summer is here and many of you are travelling, it’s a good time to remember how often our best travel memories come from unexpected sources.For me those tales often come on my rides to and from airports and meetings, when I talk to my Uber driver, taxi driver or, when I’m really lucky (i.e., someone else is paying for it), my car service driver. I am fortunate to have a career that takes me to interesting places like Hong Kong, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., which are cities attracting people from all over the world.Some of those people end up driving for a living and they are often happy to share their stories. On a recent ride in Miami, I discovered my driver was Ukrainian like me but he was from Kiev, not East Kildonan, so he was a little more authentic. He shared how he left for the United States around the time the Iron Curtain fell. A trained radio engineer, he had trouble finding work in his field, so he started driving a cab.A quarter of a century later he’s still driving and takes the positives from it — the interesting people, little breaks throughout the day, and the variety. He has also been able to help his kids attend college. He beamed as he described their professional careers.My Uber drivers on a recent trip to Washington shared about life in sub-Saharan Africa and Iraq. The Iraqi gentleman was a ranking officer in the army and now spends up to 14 hours each day driving for Über. With four young children, he shared how he is able to make a life for them and how much happier they are in the United States. He said he is filled with hope for their futures.Many of my Uber drivers come from Africa, often from areas devastated by war. They are often reluctant to share details, for good reason, but are extremely humble and grateful they have a second chance.So when you hit the airport and get your luggage this summer, don’t wait for the beach, mall or hotel before looking for that first memory. It may come from the front seat of your the vehicle you’re riding in.Tony Zerucha is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email him at tzerucha@gmail.com

Now that summer is here and many of you are travelling, it’s a good time to remember how often our best travel memories come from unexpected sources.

For me those tales often come on my rides to and from airports and meetings, when I talk to my Uber driver, taxi driver or, when I’m really lucky (i.e., someone else is paying for it), my car service driver. I am fortunate to have a career that takes me to interesting places like Hong Kong, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., which are cities attracting people from all over the world.

Some of those people end up driving for a living and they are often happy to share their stories. On a recent ride in Miami, I discovered my driver was Ukrainian like me but he was from Kiev, not East Kildonan, so he was a little more authentic. He shared how he left for the United States around the time the Iron Curtain fell. A trained radio engineer, he had trouble finding work in his field, so he started driving a cab.

Finding Freedom offers addictions healing

In order to truly address addiction, one has to understand all of its underlying causes, and a program called Finding Freedom does that at The Factory (257 Riverton Ave.) every  Fridays at 6:30 p.m., founder Tim Fletcher says.

Almost 15 years ago, Fletcher was an addictions counsellor at Tamarack Recovery Centre. Clients often came to him with questions about God and their own spiritual experiences. Requests came for a program that combined Christian perspectives with the wisdom of 12-step programs and the science of addiction.

It was a growing process, Fletcher admitted. Most non-Christians wouldn’t stick with the program early on.

“I asked clients if they had a serious problem, would they go to the church for help, and to a person they said ‘not a chance’,” Fletcher said.

Broncos tragedy touches chaplain to local teams

This should be one of the most exciting times of Lorne Korol’s career.

The East Kildonan resident is chaplain for three of Winnipeg’s professional sports teams. With the Jets and Moose in the playoffs and the Blue Bombers preparing for training camp, Korol, along with all Winnipeg sports fans, was full of hope for the possibilities the coming weeks would bring.

Everything changed when he heard of the tragic bus crash involving the Humboldt Broncos hockey team. Ironically, Korol was on a road trip of his own in rural Canada at the time, driving to a prayer breakfast in Altona. A former high-level athlete himself, Korol immediately felt the loss on so many levels.

“I took it really hard,” he recalled. “We’ve all been on those buses. You can’t help but put yourself into that spot. It’s unimaginable, the pain, the suffering. I thought about my daughter Jess and all the road trips she’s been on.”

Cutting a rug for Special Olympics

Jess Korol could have done something much easier for her independent professional project in the Creative Communications program at Red River College, but the East Kildonan resident decided to use this opportunity to benefit an organization that means so much to her family.

On Feb. 15, Korol held Dancing to Nationals, a fund raising event in support of Special Olympics’ Draft an Athlete program. Staged in a Dancing with the Stars-style format, the evening saw four Special Olympics athletes and their partners dance a routine for a panel of supportive judges and more than 100 guests.

“The athletes pair up with a Masterworks Studio dancer, choose a song and practise it,” Korol said. “They’ve been practising for weeks.”

Korol, who said she has a relative with disabilities, also volunteered with “Special O” when she was in high school and has been looking for the right opportunity to say thank you ever since.

Canucks ready to fly in the playoffs

As the 2017-18 Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League playoffs loom, head coach Blair Mooney’s St. James Canucks are peaking at the right time.

Following their game on Feb. 21, the Canucks sit in fourth place with a 22-16-4 record and three games remaining. They are two points up on the fifth-place Stonewall Jets, their likely first-round  playoff opponent.

“The season’s gone well,” Mooney said. “We had a slow start out of the gate but we’ve been pretty consistent lately.”

Mooney said his relatively young squad limped to a 4-7-1 start when the season hit a turning point following a road game in Morris, where the Canucks held a 3-1 lead late in the third period before losing the contest. Team leaders held a players-only, 30-minute meeting after the bus pulled into the home parking lot.

Seeing Winnipeg in a whole new way

Raise your hand if you’ve ever taken a trip on the Paddlewheel Queen or the River Rouge down the Red River.

Many of us, of a certain age, have fond memories of boarding the boat behind the old Carling Brewery on Redwood Avenue or by the Louise Bridge.

I got to relive those memories earlier this fall when my neighbour’s son invited my wife Tracey and I for a spin on his new boat, which he had spent the last several months restoring. It’s a beauty, with plenty of polished wood and a sleeping area for three underneath.

What was different for me was most of cruises on the Paddlewheel or the River Rouge took us north, or they happened at night when it was too dark, or, if I was on a Rockin’ River Cruise (remember them?) I was too distracted to enjoy the scenery.

Writer-in-residence a mentor to others

Jennifer Still knows how important mentors have been to her writing career, and she is eager to play a similar role to Winnipeg’s writing community.

Still is the Winnipeg Public Library’s new writer-in-residence, a role she has until Apr. 30, 2018. The Crescentwood resident is an award-winning poet and the editor for CV2, Canada’s longest running poetry journal. She has also been the writer-in-residence at the University of Manitoba’s Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture and at the University of Winnipeg.

Before the awards, before the books, and before the appointments Still was a writer at heart who in Grade 5 would memorize poems for school while drying the dishes at the kitchen sink.

“I loved listening to the rhythm and walking across my mom’s linoleum, chanting the words of Robert Frost inside of me while being in this very different place,” Still said. “I began to experience the depth of the interior world stories and poems opened me up to.”

Good Earth, great java

Tuxedo native Graham Balacko said he always wanted to own his own business. He also loves coffee, so when the opportunity came to open his own shop he jumped at the chance.

Balacko is the owner of the Good Earth Coffeehouse at 455 Sterling Lyon Parkway. Open since mid-September, things are going well so far.

“I had a lot of people saying we need a shop like this in Tuxedo,” Balacko said. “I wouldn’t have opened it anywhere else.”

Balacko’s is the first Good Earth Coffeehouse in Winnipeg (and 48th for the company) but more could be on the way, cofounder Nan Eskenazi said. She shared her company’s founding principles.

Merlyn to stage classic fairy tale

Merlyn Productions Theatre Company is bringing a beloved Hans Christian Andersen classic to the stage in The Princess and the Pea, which will be performed at the Forrest Nickerson Theatre (285 Pembina Hwy.) from Oct. 18 to 22.

The Richard Davis Jr. adaptation tells the story of a muddy and disheveled princess who catches the eye of the handsome prince. In order to prove that she is indeed royalty, the princess must pass the queen’s ‘pea under the mattress’ test.

The production is designed for audiences three and older and runs 50 minutes. Children are invited to meet the performers in the lobby after the show.

The Princess and the Pea is directed by Merlyn Productions artistic director John Chase, a two-decade veteran of the Fantasy Theatre for Children. The all-Winnipeg cast stars Cora Fast as the Princess, Ardyth Johnson as the Queen, Robert Hewitt King as the King, Ethan Lapkin as the Jester, Tanner Lysack as the Prince and Tim Sayeau and the Announcer.

Progress made on illegal rooming houses

A problem as complex as illegal rooming houses around the University of Manitoba is not one to be quickly solved, but progress is being made, Coun. Janice Lukes said.

On Aug. 31 the councillor for South Winnipeg - St. Norbert released her Councillor’s Report to the Community — Illegal Rooming Houses, an overview of the work initiated by Lukes, the Fort Richmond-University Heights Neighbourhood Association and other groups concerned about the proliferation of illegal rooming houses near the University of Manitoba.

According to the report there are more than 150 illegal rooming houses near the University of Manitoba, a problem that has developed due to what Lukes calls a perfect storm of factors. The University of Manitoba has the lowest campus bed-to-student population ratio of 15 Canadian research universities, with no new beds planned for at least three years. The university attracts a significant number of international students, many of whom have limited credit histories that make it hard to rent an apartment. Some longtime Fort Richmond residents have downsized and left the area as they have gotten older. Put it all together and voila, you have a rooming house problem.

Lukes said significant progress has been made, much of it related to bylaw enforcement. The Winnipeg Parking Authority now has the ability to police the number of cars parked either on lawns or in backyards. That has helped reduce that specific problem.

Cheap laughs at Winnipeg Comedy Showcase

Whether you are an established fan of comedy or you are thinking of checking out a show for the first time, the 16th edition of the Winnipeg Comedy Showcase is just for you, organizer Jared Story said.

Taking place at the Park Theatre on Fri., Oct. 6, the evening features six of Winnipeg’s best acts performing their best material, for only $10 ($15 at the door).

“To get seven comedy acts (including Story) for $10, you’re not going to beat that anywhere,” Story said. “Save some money and buy in advance. You’d be stupid not to.”

The 33 year-old Story, a Wolseley resident who has opened for former Kids in the Hall members Scott Thompson and Bruce McCulloch along with professional wrestler Mick Foley, said the Oct. 6 audience will enjoy a group of very funny people, each with their own unique style.

New forms of expression

Whether it be as a musician, deejay, or even as a master hairstylist, Eve Rice has a long history of channelling her creativity in new directions.

The process continues Sept. 29 when Eve Rice is Head opens at Gallery Lacosse, 169 Lilac St. It is part of the eighth annual Culture Days weekend, which offers Manitobans thousands of free, hands-on interactive activities that will teach them more about the arts and the people working in them.

Rice has two enduring alter egos. In the 1990s, Vav Jungle debuted and went on to produce six releases. She toured North America and her music was featured in radio, television and film, including on The Chris Isaak Show and the W Network. In 2002, she refashioned her sound in becoming DJBeekeeni, a performance artist who combines singing with making DJ sets. In 2010 she worked with B52s vocalist Fred Schneider and the Superions to remix the song Batbaby.

Before DJBeekeeni, before Vav Jungle, Rice painted in secondary school.

ITC event a knockout

In This Corner Boxing Fitness Centre has been helping people living with Parkinson’s disease to go the distance.

This fall they’re inviting everyone to do the same while raising money to help people living with the disease.

On Dec. 2 the facility at 211-1460 Chevrier Blvd. will host a unique boxing event where the entrants collect pledges to get in the ring. The reason the organizers are telling you now is they are running a two-month training program to help participants, many of whom have likely never boxed before, get ready for the big day.

“We’ve quite often run a six to eight-week week fitness challenge,” In this Corner co-owner Maureen Black said. “We have the ring and we have had competitions in boxing before so I thought why not combine those and we can raise some money for a good cause.”