Trails advocate earns deserved award

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/09/2022 (261 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I hope everyone had a wonderful summer season. With fall approaching and children returning to school, please remember to keep a look out for children walking back and forth to school, and also to make sure to watch out for school buses on our roads.

I was pleased to be informed that one of our constituents, Dan Lester of St. Clements, was the recipient of the Nature Award, one of six major awards announced by Recreation Manitoba earlier this summer. Dan is the executive director of the Red River North Trails Association. He has been a part of the trails association since 2004 and was the RRNTA representative at Trails Manitoba from 2008 to 2015. In this role, as well as through countless volunteer hours, he has been a tireless worker and significant contributor to the development of trails and trail systems. In particular, he was directly involved in development and connection of the 400 kilometres of Trans Canada Trail from Great Falls, passing through the entire East Beaches region, Mars Hills, Beausejour, Selkirk, Lockport, and into Winnipeg. He has negotiated partnerships with 10 different municipalities and the Trans Canada Trail central organization, has developed many private landowners’ use agreements, and has secured over a dozen permits through the various government departments for land-use access and road crossings. He has secured shared funding and cost-share grants from the province, estimated at over $1 million, and has completed $1.2 million worth of trail projects for the RRNTA. I would like to personally congratulate Dan on all of his contributions and hard work for his community.

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Our Progressive Conservative government recently announced the creation of the new Arts, Culture and Sport in Community fund (ACSC). The $100 million over three years will enhance Manitobans’ access to the arts, sports, and culture through the programming and facilities of non-profit organizations.

The ACSC fund is split into three streams: large capital projects between $300,000 and $5 million; small capital projects and special initiatives for requests up to $300,000; and community celebrations for requests up to $5,000. Projects can range from the construction of new community space to the modernization of HVAC systems. Eligible non-profits may be amateur sports organizations, ethno-cultural organizations, community festival organizations and more. To find more information on eligibility, please visit manitoba.ca/acsc

I welcome constituents of Red River North to continue to contact our office either by email at rrnorthca@mymts.net or by telephone at 204-641-2107.

Jeff Wharton
Red River North constituency report

Jeff Wharton is the PC MLA for Red River North.

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