Looking back at 2017

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/01/2018 (3080 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The past year marked an important milestone for the RM of Headingley as residents celebrated the 25th anniversary of the municipality’s formation after its secession from Winnipeg in 1992.

• Local residents held a joint Canada 150th and Headingley 25th celebration on Canada Day when the Headingley Splash Park was opened.

• The Headingley Headliner, now known as The Headliner, was also first published in 1992. It was the Phoenix Community Club’s newsletter with local volunteers writing and gathering stories, selling advertising, formatting the pages and ensuring that it was distributed across Headingley.

• Sanford students and staff were able to return to using the entire J.A. Cuddy School building in September after renovations were completed following a fire in September 2016. A community greenspace project also enhanced the school’s outdoor sports fields, playground and added an outdoor classroom.

• Portage la Prairie business owners and residents are looking forward to the positive economic impact that Roquette will provide as the sod-turning for its $40 million pea protein manufacturing plant occurred in September.

Headingley kicks off 25th anniversary year
Plans for the Phoenix Winter Carnival, organized by the Phoenix Recreation Association, began in January.

The annual carnival, then in its 21st year, ran from Sun., Feb. 5 to 12 and included a parade, Phoenix Flames hockey tournament, old-timers hockey game, fun curling bonspiel, pickleball tournament, community barbecue and fireworks, among other events.

“This will be a nice way for the community to launch Canada’s 150th and Headingley’s 25th anniversaries,” association member Marian Templeton said.

Headingley mayor John Mauseth agreed, saying, “I think it will be a special way to kick off the anniversaries.”

Firefighters serving their communities
The approximately 108 women and men who work with the fire departments in the RMs of Rosser, Headingley, Macdonald, St. Francois Xavier and Cartier could be called to deal with a grass fire, someone experiencing chest pains, a car crash or even a railcar derailment with hazardous substance spillage.

Members of the five departments are paid an hourly rate for their work so the term ‘volunteer’ is somewhat of a misnomer. However, it’s a sense of duty, not the money that drives them.

“The guys have the desire to serve their community. You feel good helping others,” said Rosser fire chief Mike Palmer.

The call volume is increasing in communities experiencing residential and commercial growth. Fire chief Mike Siemens said the Macdonald department received 159 calls in 2016, with more than half being motor vehicle-related.

Urban Stable gives students a unique experience
For over 15 years, Urban Stable has connected students with horses, helping youth to gain self-confidence, make friends and learn workplace skills.

“About 500 students have been through the program,” said executive director Wendy MacDonald.

Urban Stable is situated at Camp Assiniboia, 2220 Lido Page Rd. in the RM of Cartier. Originally working with students in Pembina Trails School Division, Urban Stable now includes participants from Seine River SD schools and from Oak Bluff and Starbuck schools in Red River Valley SD. The students, diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, autism and some who are facing family and personal issues, range in age from 11 to 15 years and are referred for the program by school staff.

Terriers capture MJHL championship
While they had to scramble up from fifth place in regular season play, the Portage Terriers celebrated another Manitoba Junior Hockey League victory on April 19.

The Terriers were able to knock the OCN Blizzard off in six games, playing the final before a packed hometown crowd at Stride Place. Terrier forward Chase Brakel’s single goal in the opening period clinched the championship for the team.

It was the third consecutive Turnbull Cup for the Terriers and seventh championship over the last 10 years.

Glass artwork added in SFX daycare centre
Local artist Matthew McMillan and Country Kids Learning Centre’s school-aged students created a stunning art piece to serve as the centre’s donor wall.

The glass artwork includes a tree decorated with colourful bubbles. Centre executive director Cheryl Hamilton said the piece represents the daycare facility’s Growing Roots community campaign that helped raise money needed to construct and equip the new building that opened in August 2016.

On either side of the center portion are the donors’ names listed in Neighbours, Friends and Partners sections according to the amount of each one’s donation.

McMillan, vice-president of Prairie Studio Glass in Winnipeg, and parent of three children who go to the day care, was pleased to work on the donor wall project with the centre’s older children.

Kingswood gets facelift for 30th anniversary
Kingswood Golf & Country Club president Christie Houston likes watching the expression on guests’ faces as they enter the newly renovated facility in La Salle.

Houston, the majority shareholder of a group of local investors who bought the club a year ago, said the work began after golf season ended in 2016 and continued throughout the winter. A grand opening was held on April 28.

Rather than being faced with the bar upon entry, guests now see a decorative wall bearing a lighted sign.

A new eat-in and take-out menu was launched and Houston said the kitchen staff is headed by executive chef Ryan Martin.

Portage’s Canada 150 mosaic unveiled
About 650 tiles painted by Portage la Prairie residents make up a colourful mosaic gracing the north exterior wall of Stride Place (245 Royal Rd. S) in Portage.

The mosaic, part of a nationwide Canada 150 mosaic project, was unveiled by Portage deputy mayor Brent Budz, Portage Regional Recreation Authority staff and members of the Public Art Committee that oversaw the mosaic’s creation.

Images on individual 12 x 8-inch tiles combine to form larger images of an Indigenous man portaging, a Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star training jet, Canada geese, a Red River cart and bulrushes and a canola crop. The tableau is placed in the image of a box car and the entire piece is 12 x 8-feet.

Public Art Committee member Carole Lupkowski said each of the mosaics created by the 150 communities across Canada will be linked online to form what looks like a train by the end of the year. The completed art pieces can be viewed at http://canada150mosaic.com

Dance club offers chance to dip, sway
If you have two left feet and a phobia about making moves on the dance floor members of Winnipeg’s Westview Dance Club can help.

“Our goal is having a social dance club. We do it for fun,” said long-time member Margie Martin, a St. James resident who dances with husband Bill.

The Westview Dance Club is a couples-only group with a history dating back to 1970. The members learn and practise ballroom-style dances including the waltz, fox trot, cha cha, swing, tango and rhumba. Monthly social dances are held in the Oak Bluff Recreation Centre (101 Macdonald Rd.) in Oak Bluff.

Trinity Lutheran celebrates 50 years
Much has changed over the past 50 years, but Trinity Lutheran Church in Starbuck has been a constant in the lives of many local families since 1967.

A committee of church members organized events throughout October to celebrate the church’s history and important role within the community and area.

The church, with an attached parsonage, at 43 River Ave. in Starbuck was designed by Winnipeg architect Etienne Gaboury. It contains unique features such as a bubble skylight that shines on the baptismal font, a row of stained glass windows that shine their light on an adjacent wall, a stylized cross and other modernist touches. The acoustics are good and the annual Meridian Arts Festival’s musical competitions are held in the church.

Hitting the bag at Sanford Collegiate
Sanford Collegiate students can work out their stress by donning boxing gloves and hitting punching bags in the school gym.

The school’s boxing club head coach Mike Zurba said over 60 of the school’s approximately 340 students sign up for the club that runs from February to the end of May each year. The club membership is usually evenly split between male and female students.

The onus is on personal development, not on fighting, he said. In fact, Sanford Collegiate is the only high school in Manitoba that has a boxing club so there are no inter-school matches. Some graduates do go on and continue to train at Winnipeg boxing clubs, such as Pan-Am.

Remembering local veterans
A new monument to veterans of both World Wars and the Korean War was unveiled in St. Eustache on Nov. 11.

The monument, located in front of the St. Eustache Roman Catholic Church at 57 Main St., bears the names of about 450 names of veterans from St. Eustache, Elie, Belcourt, Marquette and St. Francois Xavier. It’s the first time most of these soldiers, sailors and pilots are honoured by having their names placed on a public memorial.

Volunteers with the Manitoba Metis Federation’s St. Eustache local spearheaded the effort to gather the names and paid to erect the monument.

Elie manufacturing pioneer honoured
The late Charles Balmer, who founded Valmar Manufacturing (later renamed Valmar Airflo) in Elie in 1977 is being posthumously recognized with a Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) Award.

The CME awards recognize individuals and organizations for their outstanding contribution in achieving world-class benchmarks in the manufacturing and exporting industry. Awards will be presented during Manitoba Manufacturing Week at the CME’s annual gala dinner on Mar. 22, 2018.

Balmer’s step-daughters and business partners Mercedes Caron and Chris Charpentier will be on hand to receive the award on Balmer’s behalf. He died on Sept. 14, 2006.
Valmar Airflo is still operating in Elie after being sold to the Salford Group in 2015.

— Staff