A provincially-led program aimed at improving the quality of life in the community has the City of Dauphin anxiously awaiting word on when the promised assistance is forthcoming.

Dauphin was one of 12 communities selected last April to receive provincial funding to develop and implement a Community Safety and Well-being Plan (CSWP) following a successful pilot project in Thompson in 2019-20.

While the City had hoped the process would begin last summer, it is still waiting on the province to appoint a consultant and provide the approximately $100,000 in funding, half of which will be used to formulate the plan with the other half being to used to implement its initiatives.

“The delay is starting to become problematic in the sense that we’d love to get going on it and we have to hurry up and wait,” mayor David Bosiak said. “I just wish that the province would pull the trigger on this and let us go. Who knows, that call or email could come any day, but I can’t really say when that will happen.”

The City had informal discussions with Manitoba Justice late last year regarding the process, and was able to educate the department on the work, which is already underway in the community.

Over the last number of years, the Crisis Prevention Task Force and Under One Roof have been working to effectively co-ordinate social services with various providers and have had some success in the approach.

The City has also met with those local service providers and other community groups to inform them about the program and its process, as well as offer its leadership with respect to the plan and how it will fit into the community. To that end, the City has created a repository for organizations to populate with information they want to share with the group and for the purposes of the CSWP.

But despite the work that has been done, Bosiak is fearful that given the complexity of the program and the diversity of the communities involved - six Indigenous communities and six municipalities, all of different sizes and facing different issues - the province will attempt a “cookie cutter” approach that produces results adequate for all, but perfect for none.

The City, he added, is more interested in developing a plan tailormade for Dauphin.

“I’m hoping there’s some flexibility from our end once they see that we have capacity, we have capability. We have people already doing this, so let’s not spend time and money doing stuff we’ve already done,” Bosiak said “One of the things we’re hopeful of is once this process starts with the provincially-appointed or identified consultant, that we can quickly come to a place with them to say ‘okay, we don’t have to get a community meeting, we don’t have to get the partners lined up, we don’t have to inform them, because we’ve already been doing that for two or three years anyway.”

What the City is looking for from the consultant, Bosiak said, is advice on some implementation strategies, with input from it’s community partners.

“Maybe even to help us assess how well or not the current Under One Roof programming is going for us,” he said.

The City will host the next meeting of the social service providers and community groups, as part of the CSWP process, at the end of January or early February.

A group of Parkland residents have received a special honour courtesy of the Province of Manitoba and Dauphin MLA Brad Michaleski.

At a special ceremony in Brandon last week, Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medals were presented to Kay Slobodzian, Michelle Mazurkewich, Tony Safronetz, Bev Harvey, Carole Shankaruk, Alex Lytwyn, Al Gray and Rodney Juba were presented their medals by Lt-Gov. Anita Neville, Premier Heather Stefanson and Michaleski. Two other Dauphin residents, Brian Damsgaard and Jim Perchaluk were unable to attend the ceremony and will receive their medals at a later date.

Manitoba was one of five Canadian provinces to celebrate the 70th anniversary year of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the Throne through the medal program.

Read more in this week's Dauphin Herald!

I suppose it’s true that when you shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you end up among the stars. Not that I would consider what former Swan Valley resident Brett Madill does for a living to be ‘missing’ anything, considering that with the application of an evolving skillset and a little luck of being in the right place at the right time, he has ended up on film sets with some of Hollywood’s elite talent.
Notably, Madill served as visual effects technician on the set of A Man Called Otto, a film currently in theatrical release starring Tom Hanks about a grumpy man who meets someone that turns his life around. The production is just the latest in what has become a long list of high-profile projects since Madill entered the entertainment industry. Madill, son of recent Swan Valley exports David and Elaine Madill, is a 2001 graduate of the SVRSS and went on to
get two previous Bachelor’s Degrees from the University of Manitoba before switching course and taking a Creative Communications Diploma from Red River College in 2013. “When I went to Red River College, I didn’t even know you could study visual effects (VFX) in college,” said Madill, who graduated from the program in 2015 with a media production major. “Creative Communications was integral to helping me develop the skills, mindset, determination, motivation and opportunity that led to the career I now have.”
Madill’s final Creative Communications internship was at a VFX studio in Toronto — Spin VFX – and has been in Toronto ever since.
“I was in the right place at the right time with the right attitude and aptitude to be offered a full-time position during that internship,” said Madill. “I started as a rotoscope/prep artist and learned almost everything I know about
VFX from the artists I worked with and work I was doing. “After about a year or so, I was able to learn enough trust with my company to begin going on set occasionally.” Madill has since moved on from the original studio he worked
for and now works for WeFX, heading up the On Set Department, and is an IATSE 667 union member as VFX On Set Supervisor and Lead Data Wrangler. 
“As VFX On Set Supervisor, I execute the VFX plan on the day of shooting,” said Madill. “I communicate with the Director, Director of Photography, Script Supervisor and other department heads to ensure that the needs of each VFX setup are met, and troubleshoot when unexpected issues arise during a shoot day — which happens quite often. 
“When I am on set as Lead Data Wrangler, I’m recording the specifications of each camera setup, shooting a halfdozen different types of reference photographs, and using a LiDAR scanner to capture scans of the environment. I
do quite a bit of LiDAR scanning, which uses a laser surveying tool to take millions of measurements per minute in 360 degrees, allowing me to create an accurate digital model of a shoot location or set. I’ve been everywhere from
a haunted old west jailhouse to deep space.”
His talents were taken on the road to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he shot A Man Called Otto with Tom Hanks. The film was also shot in and around Toledo, Cleveland and Niagara Falls. “I interacted with Tom Hanks a number of
times in the course of performing my duties, and it may not shock you to learn that he’s charming, funny and a great actor,” said Madill. “It was an amazing and irreplaceable experience to work with Tom, Rita Wilson and their son Truman all on this film.”
Madill’s movie and television credits are numerous since 2015, with the full list appearing on his IMDb page. “From 2015-2021, I put a lot of time and energy into The Expanse, both on set and on the computer,” he said. “I
learned so many valuable lessons from that show.” Other major highlights of his career include recent shows like Stranger Things, What We Do in the Shadows, See, The Umbrella Academy, The Handmaid’s Tale, Reacher, and She-
Hulk: Attorney-at-Law. 
And, while the jobs on a film set or in postproduction can often be demanding and long, Madill loves his job. “I am positive and full of gratitude,” he said. “The hours on set or in the VFX studio can be long, but you’re all in it
together. “I often still find it hard to believe that I get to do this for a living. My life has become very satisfying, and I’m enjoying it quite a bit. “I am inspired by the head of the WeFX studio, Mo Ghorbankarimi, and the fantastic quality of the VFX produced by the entire WeFX team,” Madill continued. “I am inspired by good storytelling, and by John Carpenter, Jaws and Jurassic Park. “I continue to be curious about filmmaking. I love to learn about
everyone else’s job on set and try to absorb as much as I can.” 
Most importantly, Madill encourages Swan River’s future filmmakers that it is possible to make it in the movie industry. “I didn’t believe it was possible to have an actual career in film/TV when I was growing up in Swan River,” he
said. “I’d like the youth growing up in Swan River to know that it is reachable.
“Winnipeg has a lot more production now than it used to. You don’t even have to leave Manitoba to get started.” 
A Man Called Otto is currently in theatres and is scheduled to play at 7 p.m. at the Star City Cinema on Jan. 27 and 28 as well as Feb. 1 and 2.

Crime around town is out of hand in Swan River, affecting properties and business owners. A piece of graffiti on the back of the Veterans Community Hall seems to illustrate how the repeat criminals in the area are ruling the community. McKay’s Self Storage units are now fenced off after several doors were broken and bent out of shape in an effort to get inside.

Thinking back, it’s hard to believe that the Take A Year Off Lottery has been around for going-on twenty years.

Back then, the idea of community fundraising draws offering the top payout of large weekly prizes of $52,000 paid in weekly $1,000 installments, was a fairly novel idea. It was one that caught on quickly, as now similarly styled lotteries are common place and, thanks to an awful lot of community participation and countless volunteers selling tickets and manning the phone centers when the draw date got closer, the popularity of the draw has never waned much.

The goal, Chris Radford said was always to help volunteer driven organizations with their operating costs. And this year, the committee hit a huge milestone as they exceeded one million dollars given to help our various organizations throughout this municipality since 2004.

It’s broken down like this:
Russell Swimming Pool - $274,908.00
Russell Memorial Multiplex -$289,908.00
George P. Buleziuk Centre - $259,908.00
Russell Golf Course - $35,025.43
Russell Curling Rink - $6,380.00
Field of Dreams - $66,745.43
Playground - $8,000.00
Russell & District Library - $38,745.43
Russell Flying Club - $17,850.00
Russell Lots-A-Tots - $56,050.00
Binscarth Park& Pool - $20,000.00
Binscarth Lil Bloomer Learning Patch - $16,800.00
For a total of $1,090,320.29.

More details can be found in this week's Russell Banner!

While he does perform all across North America, Davey Holt set the tone for the Winter Whiskey Festival with plenty of original and contemporary Scottish folk music.

Check out more pictures from the event in this week's Russell Banner!

Two Parkland WWII heroes were among the many honored at a ceremony marking the presentation of Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medals in Brandon last week.

Shown above are Manitoba’s Premier Heather Stefanson and (extreme right) MLA Rick Wowchuk from the Dauphin riding presenting the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medals to Mr. Keith Fulford from Swan River (seated) and Mr. Jack Widdicombe from Russell. Both men are 101 years young and are active members of their respective Royal Canadian Legions.

Mr. Fulford’s nephew Keith Fulford was also in attendance. Congratulations also go out to Karen Batson, Connie McKay, Elder Thomas Nepinak, Cam Mateika, Lorna Munro, Bob Cross, Shirley Kalyniuk, and Elder Jim Cote (who was unable to attend) other residents of this riding who were honored as recipients of this prestigious award.

Get the full story in this week's Russell Banner!

The first bonspiel of 2023 is in the books as 14 rinks took to the ice Jan. 12 to 14 – after a two-year hiatus – for Roblin’s annual Farmers’ Bonspiel.

There were some very familiar faces in the finals Saturday evening which played out after the traditional banquet.

Details in this issue.

100th Meridian Immigration is providing an opportunity for business leaders and municipal representatives to learn how immigration can play a role in their growth strategy.

The Immigration on the Prairies Virtual Summit 2023, takes place, Feb. 1 to 3, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Find out more in this week’s paper.

Organizers of Roblin’s popular still water fly fishing tournament – the Bug Chucker Cup – are hoping to get the event going again this year.

After a two year hiatus because of the Covid pandemic, calls are coming in asking if the Bug Chucker is back on for 2023.

Find out how you can help in this week’s Review.