COLUMN: Village News – Like the South Saskatchewan River

Last month I had the privilege of attending the Mennonite Historical Society of Canada conference in Saskatchewan. Representatives from six provinces, archivists, professors, and heritage leaders were all there. Each year they present an award of excellence to a deserving candidate. This year it was Leonard Doll has done a lot of research for his area, advocacy, and has published several articles. The following text was Leonard Doll’s testimony to the Federal Environmental Assessment Review Panel in Martensville, Saskatchewan in the fall of 1980 when they wanted to develop a uranium plant. Leonard was 25 years old and was opposed to the building of anything that could be used for nuclear warfare. His testimony is one of the finest descriptions of what it means to be a Mennonite.

“Our Mennonite people are like the South Saskatchewan River… we take our strength and our wisdom and our ways from the flow and direction that has been established for us by our ancestors we never knew, ancestors of hundreds of years ago. Their wisdom flows through us to our children and our grandchildren, to generations we will never know. We will live out our lives as we must, and we will die in peace because we know that our people and this river will flow after us. We know that our grandchildren will speak a language that is their heritage, that has been passed on from generation to generation. We know they will share their wealth, and not horde it to themselves. We know that they will look after their old people, and will respect them for their wisdom. We know that they will look after this land and protect it, and that 500 years from now they too have a place in the universe and they will thank the same God that I thank, that our ancestors have looked after this land well, and they will be proud to be Mennonites.

By these statements and the ones we have heard these last three weeks, our people have affirmed their belief in themselves, their past and their future, and the ideals by which they seek to live. These are the values and the principles that must underlie the development of our valley, and I am still opposed to the refinery.”

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Province plans nurse recruitment trip to Philippines

A local Filipino leader who works in health care says a provincial government push to recruit nurses from his home country is a good idea, but he hopes the province also does more to help Filipinos already in Manitoba who are struggling to get their health-care credentials recognized.

“This is a good package for the Filipino people back home, because they don’t have to research so much,” Greg Carlos, president of the South EastMan Filipino Association (SEMFA) and a health-care aide at Rest Haven, said last Monday in an interview.

“The problem is the requirements that they are asking from nurses right now. That is a big problem for the Filipinos who are actually in Manitoba right now.”

Last week, the Manitoba government announced it will send a delegation of health and immigration officials to the Philippines in the hopes of recruiting hundreds of qualified nurses and other health-care providers to Manitoba.

Teen writer releases poetry collection

A budding local writer has released a poetry collection, finished the first draft of a novel, and started work on a novella, all before her 17th birthday.

“Once I get started, then it flows pretty easily,” Claira Teichroeb said of her writing process, which has yielded her first book, The Valley of the Poet, a collection of 21 poems published through Amazon.

Teichroeb, a Grade 11 student who lives near Roseau River with her parents and three sisters, said it was thrilling to receive the first shipment of copies.

“I walked like three miles to go to the mail to get it,” she recalled.

Providence Pilots basketball honoured as playoffs begin

by CASSIDY DANKOCHIK

SPORTS FLASHBACK 2013: Pistons Win! Pistons Win! Pistons Win!

The Steinbach Pistons captivated Steinbach hockey fans, playing to sold-out arenas, during their six-week playoff run capping an incredible “rags to righes” season knocking off the defending champion Portage Terriers, sidelining the powerful Winnipeg Blues and defeating Dauphin Kings in six games enroute to their first MJHL championship.

In one of the most remarkable stories in the history of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, the Steinbach Pistons claimed the Turnbull Cup and the MJHL title before another record crowd of 1,400 fans in Steinbach, with a thrilling 3-2 victory.

The Pistons wasted little time getting on the board first in the deciding game, scoring just 50 seconds into the contest. Trent Genyk scored for the Pistons again eight minutes later to give the home team a 2-0 lead. Dauphin managed to narrow the lead to a single goal in the second period, but Mike Nykoluk restored the two goal margin for the Pistons midway through the third.

The Kings came within a goal again, with three minutes left in the game, but the Pistons shut the door the rest of the way to hold on for the historic victory, supported by the deafening roar of 1,400 fans.

Library homicide victim laid to rest in Sprague

A Winnipeg homicide victim will be laid to rest in the Southeast, close to loved ones and away from the city where he lost his life.

Tania Cayer brought her son Tyree’s remains to the quiet plains of Sprague, where she’s lived since 2021, to keep him close to places he grew up coming to.

Tania’s decision to bury her son with her instead of where he lived comes, in part, because she is “fed up” with the chaos in Winnipeg.

“Tyree’s home is here now, with me,” Tania said in a phone call with The Carillon.

COLUMN: Carillon Flashback – July 5, 1999 – Edgar’s famous veal cutlet survives restaurant closing

Steinbach diners wanting to sink their teeth into one more plate of Edgar Kehler’s delicately breaded veal cutlets (with his special sweet and sour sauce and a side order of French fries and gravy) will have to trust their luck to being invited to a wedding he is catering or head for the supermarket freezer.

After 40 years of serving up full course dinners from the same location, Edgar and his wife Helen have closed their Steinbach restaurant to the public.

The couple has no intention of retiring just yet and they will not be selling the restaurant right away. In case he changes his mind, Edgar chuckles.

In the meantime, the building next to the Husky station will serve as a base for the Kehlers’ catering business and preparation of packaged veal cutlets for sale in the freezer section of two local grocery stores.

MJHL commissioner celebrates league at showcase event

It’s been a long three years in the sporting world thanks to COVID-19, but Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) commissioner Kevin Saurette says 2023 has been a welcome change back to normalcy.

“I’m just sitting back and taking stock on what a normal year looks like,” Saurette, who named the league’s commissioner in 2020, said.

“Attendance-wise, especially in our rural markets they’re surpassing pre-COVID numbers, so there’s a lot of excitement in the MJHL. The fanbases are back.”

Part of the return was the MJHL/SJHL Showcase, held in Manitoba for the first time this year Jan. 31/Feb. 1. The event allows players from Manitoba and Saskatchewan to play in front of top-level scouts from the NCAA, major junior, USports and even professional teams.

Disability support workers top of the agenda at budget consultation

Low salaries for disability support workers was the issue that took centre stage at the province’s first 2023 budget consultation meeting hosted by Steinbach MLA Kelvin Goertzen and Borderland MLA and newly named legislative assistant to the finance minister Josh Guenter.

Held at Days Inn on Tuesday, the event was billed as an opportunity for Manitobans to share their priorities for the provincial budget.

While presenters covered a variety of topics including the need for more basket funding for municipalities, improvements to the immigration system, the need for more funding for organizations like the Pat Porter Active Living Centre, and public transportation from Steinbach to Winnipeg, presenters repeatedly referred to the challenge of hiring and keeping disability supporter workers because of low wages.

Presentations took place after Guenter shared a presentation on budget numbers, pointing out the $20 billion planned budget will see 72 percent directed to health, education and social services.

Parent applauds HSD protocol amid repeated threats

A parent of a child affected by the recent Hanover School Division closures amid repeated threatening phone calls says the response by the division has been above grade.

For the second time in less than two weeks students in the Hanover School Division stayed home after a series of voice messages issuing threats were received.

“As a parent, this is a serious thing,” said Krista Friesen, parent to a 14-year-old who attends Steinbach Regional Secondary School.

Last Wednesday staff at Clearspring Middle School received a message in which the caller issued a “direct threat” to Kleefeld School, according to an email sent to parents from Superintendent Shelley Amos.

COLUMN: Tales from the Gravel Ridge – The benefits of having wings

Living on the eastern prairies as we do in southern Manitoba, the honking of the Canada goose is familiar to all of us. In spring we are delighted to hear the sound of geese flying low over our heads on their return to northern regions. In fall however the farewell honking of geese flying overhead reminds us that winter will surely come before long.

How could we possibly be anything less than wonder-struck by the myriad of birds that make their way across our skies twice each year, as their sense of direction and acute awareness of the change of seasons prods them to be on the move.

Victor Hugo, one of the greatest French writers of all time, had a literary career that spanned more than six decades. One of his most famous works, published in 1862, was Les Misérables which focused on injustice and social misery.

In time, those of us who were students at the Rosengard School many decades ago were introduced to the book “Jean Val Jean” by Solomon Cleaver, an abridged and renamed version of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables. We were far removed from the dreadful social conditions described by Hugo, but nevertheless, who could not be touched by the plight of those living in poverty and destitution in 17th century France, as well as the compassion shown to Jean Val Jean by the priest.

Pilots continue to battle in collegiate athletics

The Providence Pilots are flying through their seasons across three different sports.

In the women’s volleyball Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference (MCAC), Providence picked up a couple key victories against the Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) Blazers Jan. 21/22, solidifying their second-place position in the standings.

Bothwell’s Amanda Bergen helped lead the Pilots up front, picking up 73 assists across seven sets, adding 22 digs. She was named the MCAC athlete of the week thanks to her big performance.

“Amanda gave us a steady presence from the setting position and executed our game plan against CMU really well all weekend,” head coach Kyle Guenther said.

Soup fly a ‘disgusting’ discovery

The can promised “the flavours you love and the quality you’ve come to expect”.

“We select the finest ingredients for our signature collection of delicious soups for a hearty and satisfying experience every time”, the can of Tim Hortons Chicken Noodle Soup goes on to promise.

But a satisfying experience is not the way Claude Caron would describe opening a can of soup only to find a large fly floating on the surface.

The Ste Anne man said he was recovering from a touch of the flu when he asked his wife to bring home a can of soup during a shopping trip to Steinbach on Jan. 20.