By Ed Stozek
For the Herald

After being sent back from Europe during WWII because he was too young, Peter Ewasiuk legally re-enlisted when he turned 18. He began a career in the Armed Forces that lasted over 20 years.

When troops from Communist-ruled North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950, Peter was called to action.

After taking a train to Seattle, he boarded an old supply ship bound for Yokohoma, Japan. The trip lasted 14 days as they ran into a monsoon. To ride out the storm, huge anchors were hung on each side of the boat while the engines idled.

The large waves didn’t bother Peter. He even took the time to watch a movie in one of the staterooms.

From Yokohoma the unit took a train to a military base where they stayed for two days and then boarded a Japanese ship headed for Pusan.

“About 30 miles from Pusan the smell was so bad I thought that I was going to die,” The enemy had decimated Pusan and several million inhabitants lived in shacks. Raw sewage had made its way into the water.

Two days later, Peter saw battle action. In the first 15 minutes their commander was killed from a volley of fire from a burp gun. As the unit advanced, they captured a hill but had forgotten to take their panels. Panels were large signs that gave directions for aircraft to drop napalm on the enemy. This mistake could have cost the troops their lives as the aircraft would have dropped bombs on Peter’s unit and they would have been killed by “friendly-fire.” They got their panels five minutes before the planes flew over them.

Peter noted, “The summer was very hot with a great deal of bugs, poisonous snakes and rats as big as cats. The winters were very cold.”

Trenches were connected to bunkers. Two men occupied a bunker. One man stood on guard while the other slept. One night when everything was really quiet, Peter decided to throw a grenade in the enemy’s direction. When it exploded the Americans started firing their machine guns in the direction of the enemy. “What a racket,” he said.

On night patrol into enemy territory there were always 14 men and each one was assigned a number. Periodically the men called out their numbers and if someone called out a wrong number he was immediately shot because it was an enemy who had infiltrated in an attempt to slit someone’s throat.

Once Peter’s squad got caught behind enemy lines during the monsoon season and had to eat roots and live off the land for five days.

“Those five days seemed like five years.” After 15 months of battle action it was time to head home. At this time Peter was stationed at Attack Headquarters and was a driver for a major. “Could I borrow the jeep to go see my buddies?” “How long?” “About two hours.” “Ok, be back by one o’clock as I have a meeting with the general.”

When Peter arrived where his buddies were they wanted him to go with them to an American MASH unit to buy beer as their jeep was broken. They loaded the jeep full of beer and decided to have a few drinks with the Americans. When Peter looked at his watch it was 3 o’clock.

“I’m going to be hanged!”

The major greeted Peter. He had walked a mile and was patiently waiting for Peter at the check stop.

“I’m at your mercy sir. Throw the book at me. I have it coming.”

Peter was told to leave the jeep and the beer and see the major the next day. Peter got a break. His penalty was to serve three more months in Korea as the major’s driver as opposed to three months of hard labour.

Hard labour was reserved for the Canadians who got into trouble and included working 16 hours each day. After his stint, Peter returned to the Fort Osbourne barracks.

Peter was a very interesting person to interview as he had many stories to tell.

Sadly, he passed away in Brandon several years ago.

The North Western Marquette Festival held its first Festival session since March of 2020 on March 22, 2022.

As is the way with Murphy’s Law (anything that can go wrong will go wrong) when the committee and dance schools finally found their way through the COVID complications to hold the Dance portion of the NWMF, weather interfered on the scheduled date of March 8th and the Dance Festival was re-scheduled for March 22.

With the co-operation of everyone involved, the afternoon of March 22 turned into a beautiful afternoon of dance! 19 dance classes were adjudicated by the wonderful and talented Tamara Hicks of Brandon.

The awards of the day went to:

Outstanding Solo Performance: Brenna Dalman
Outstanding Group/Duo Performance Ages 12 and under: Wade Dance Centre with “Lovely”
Outstanding Group/Duo Performance Ages 18 and under: Wade Dance Centre with “Help”
Most Promising Solo Performer: Mya Bonchuk
Most Promising Group/Duo Ages 12 and under: Wade Dance Centre with “Breakin’ Dishes”
Most Promising Group/Duo Ages 18 and under: Wade Dance Centre with “3326”

The NWMF committee so appreciates everyone who made this small but wonderful Festival a success. First, and most importantly because these two women are passionate instructors of dance in our communities, Belva Zentner and Giny Hillman.

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

By Gabe Mercier
MVSD Trustee

Each individual working in Mountain View School Division contributes to the school system and keeps it motoring along.

When it comes to the safety of children within the school gate, educational assistants, custodians, teachers, and administrators educate and protect them. These school-based personnel have duties at the school building and are in a sheltered area.

However, there is a group of school division personnel who begin their school day early, often work split shifts of mornings and afternoons, and their whole responsibility is outside of the school building - school bus drivers. When it comes to student safety outside the school - coming to school and going home on a bus, for example - school bus drivers do the best work.\

School bus drivers at Mountain View School Division play an important role in the safe supervision of the children and in the direct management of student activities on school buses. The work of managing the transportation of children on a school bus requires people skills and efficiency in the handling of all the issues that transpire during the process.

The research shows that generally speaking, the overall top five behaviour management strategies used by bus drivers were:
1- Assigning a student to a particular seat;
2 - Reporting students to school building administration;
3 - Moving a student to a particular seat during the bus route;
4 - Use of video surveillance; and
5 - Discussing a student’s behavior with a parent or guardian.” (Brian K. Sims, 2014)

School bus drivers do not work in the “sheltered” environment of a classroom or school. Drivers have to contend with both the elements on the road and working with students. They may not be involved in the teaching of the academics required for passing a grade or for graduation, but they have to monitor and teach social skills and attitudes required in a group setting. These attitudinal skills that the bus drivers monitor and supervise on the school buses are required in our liberal democratic society. The skills of communication, respect for social space, being kind to others and respect for other people are many of the fundamental skills and attitudes that are needed in the education of our children.

At Mountain View School Division, school bus drivers manage the duty of picking up students from designated stops and transporting them to various schools within the division. In doing so, the driver must deliver the students so they arrive at school with a positive attitude and ready to learn. They hold a very important task of transporting students safely with a combined driving distance of about 1,250,000 kilometres of bus routes annually.

There are 38 regular route drivers and 15 substitute drivers who transport 1,498 kids per day. School bus drivers also transport students and teachers to various field trips or sporting events, and those trips account for approximately 75,000 kilometres annually.

School bus drivers play a crucial role in the safe running of school buses. As parents, we all know how difficult it can be to drive our kids around and try to maintain our focus from the constant distractions. Supervising about 24 children while driving the school bus requires exceptional driving skills and incredible focus. Many school bus drivers often feel that they are not appreciated and sometimes may feel disrespected, too. It is important to respect and value the work that they do. Children should be taught to respect the school bus drivers. Students and the education community must be aware of the immense responsibility and contributions that school bus drivers make to the education system.

Without a doubt, our school bus drivers lived up to their responsibilities of keeping the buses safe for our students during the COVID-19 pandemic, and they should be commended for their efforts.

However, there is a need for more drivers, as driver recruitment has been very difficult in all areas and the school division has lost a few substitutes. In the last 18 months, the division had to cancel a handful of daily routes due to a substitute shortage.

Finally, my last two girls took the bus from Grades 9 to 12 because I was working in the school system and wanted to get to work by 8 a.m., and it was very hard on me waiting for two teenagers to get ready on time to travel with me. So, I agreed with my wife that I should not wait, and that they would have to catch the school bus; and maybe that was what the kids wanted, to not travel with dad who may ask about homework during the ride.

Anyway, I must add that there were times when they missed the bus even though it passed by my place at 8:15 a.m. When I reflect upon that period of time, I’m thankful for the patience of the bus driver when those kids were not by the road, and the driver had to wait a minute.

So, let’s celebrate the tremendous job performed by our bus drivers in transporting students safely to school, and in contributing to the education of children in our education community.

The provincial government on April 12 released its annual budget announcing a whopping $19.271 billion in spending in 2022, an increase of about 2.4 per cent from last year, or $466 million overall.

As usual, spending on Health takes up a major part of the budget, about seven billion dollars; with 3.488 billion dollars for Education and Early Childhood Learning; some two billion dollars for Families; $524 million for Transportation and Infrastructure; $495 million for Agriculture; $168 million for Environment, Climate and Parks; and $54 million for the new department of Seniors and Long Term Care.

Read more in this week's Review. 

By Ed Stozek
For the Herald

For close to 40 years downhill ski enthusiasts enjoyed their favourite winter pastime at the Mount Agassiz Ski Resort.

Located eight miles west of McCreary, the National Parks Branch began developing the site in 1958-59. The site’s name was appropriate as the hill was at one time part of the shoreline of Lake Agassiz, which was formed when the glaciers retreated approximately 12,000 years ago.

An article in the January 15, 1959 edition of the Dauphin Herald showed that funds were proposed for preliminary work on the development of a ski resort within Riding Mountain National Park from the $387,000 winter work program approved by the federal government.

Crews were expected to open a road into the resort area and clear brush from the slopes.

The site, the only mountain ski hill between Thunder Bay and the Rockies, called for a downhill run, a slalom run and a practice run for beginners. The rest of the development would be up to private investors.

Newspaper reports from Winnipeg indicated that a group of city businessmen were contemplating putting up the $200,000 needed to finance and operate the resort.

In December 1961 a special showing of ski related movies at the McCreary School auditorium accompanied three days of free instruction at the cleared ski area. The program was sponsored by Manitoba Ski Zone and the newly-created McCreary Ski Club. Following each day of lessons Bob Pierce, one of Manitoba's top alpine competitors, demonstrated slalom racing.

“A group of Manitoba men were awarded the concession to operate a double chair lift, a tow rope and a chalet at the ski hill. These are expected to be installed and operating by December. This summer the national parks branch will be completing construction of a five-mile access from the park boundary, a parking lot, ski patrol hut and other facilities.” (May 30, 1962, Dauphin Herald)

On Feb. 16 and 17, 1963, the Central Canadian Alpine competitions with entries from Fort William, Port Arthur, Winnipeg, Loch Lammond and Flin Flon were hosted at Agassiz.

By Sunday afternoon more than 300 cars had ferried spectators to watch the finals of the downhill and slalom competitions. Later that week a meeting was organized at Black’s Sports Shop calling all interested local skiers to come out to see special films, as well as take part in organizing a Dauphin ski club.

Provincewide interest was evident by the hundreds of skiers and sightseers travelling to the area to see the progress being made.

“The slopes were in first class condition and would be ready for skiers as soon as there was sufficient snowfall. The new chalet which will replace temporary accommodation at the slope last winter is hexagonal in shape, consisting of a large lounge with two completely glassed in walls looking out onto the slope offering skiers and spectators a panoramic view of the entire lower area of the slope. There will be a canteen and a pro shop for ski rentals. The lift will have a capacity of 960 skiers per hour and will convey them to the top in about eight minutes. It may well be that before long Agassiz will be regarded as the Banff of the Prairies.” (November 6, 1963, Dauphin Herald)

In anticipation for the 1979 Canada Winter Games hosted by Brandon, the Agassiz site had a major overhaul at a cost of half a million dollars as the alpine skiing events were to be held there. A month prior to the games more than 1,000 skiers got to test the new ski runs and their first chance to ride a chairlift in Manitoba. Some mechanical difficulties were also ironed out.

Unseasonably warm winters during the 1990s and the opening of the Asessippi Ski Resort near Russell were cited as two of the main factors that caused the owners to file for bankruptcy in 2000.

In the ensuing years several unsuccessful attempts were made to re-open the “Banff of the Prairies.”

In 2014 a contract was awarded to remove the main lodge building, excavate contaminated soil and landscape the area as Parks Canada made the decision to revert the former ski resort back to its natural habitat.

The spirit of the Ukrainian people and their cultural traditions are alive and well in Canada thanks to people like Angie Esplen.

She drove her children to dance practices and recitals for years and when they graduated from high school, Angie and other mothers decided to form their own group: the M&Ms, which stands for Menopausal Mommas.

“The M&Ms do traditional Ukrainian dances and are known for character dances,” says Angie. “We practice weekly and compete throughout Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta.

We performed at Dauphin’s National Ukrainian Festival in 2020 and feel honoured to be invited back this year. We also host an annual competition in Russell, and I’ve been chairperson of that for a decade.”

For more, check this week's Russell Banner

The great weather brought out 27 people to Moose Lake Trail who enjoyed a afternoon by participating in skiing, snowshoeing, and chatting around a bonfire while roasting smokies and marshmallows, and sipping on hot chocolate!

Riding Mountain National Park staff - Trail Maintenance Supervisor Ron Sykes and Outreach Co-ordinator Marjorie Huculak - attended and were very pleased to see so many people appreciating this beautiful RMNP trail!

The Moose Lake trail is maintained by local volunteers, and the donations received at the Fun Day and from other sources, are used to pay for upkeep of the snowmobile packer (repairs, gas, oil), and for replacement of this very old machine.

The Moose Lake Trail Stewards are very grateful for the generosity of their donors, as well as for the RMNP Staff who assist in brush clearing of the trail in the off-season

The Kilty Kurling Klub welcomed three new life members to its fold, recently.

Debra Watson of the life membership committee, presented Carolyn Baker with her certificate, top, while committee member Dona-Leigh Davis presented certificates to Norma Johnson, middle, and Brenda Desroches.

The three new members were recognized for their contributions to ladies curling in Dauphin.

Manitoba’s top cop is retiring.

Assistant Commissioner Jane MacLatchy announced her planned retirement from the RCMP last week, after more than 34 years of dedicated service to Canadians.

A/Commr. MacLatchy has been the commanding officer of the Manitoba RCMP for three years, having taken command in February 2019.

Her last day as commanding officer will be in June.

“My career with the RCMP has brought me across Canada, and three years ago, it brought me to Manitoba,” MacLatchy said. “It has truly been an honour to be the commanding officer for the Manitoba RCMP. Over the last three years, I’ve seen countless examples where the nearly 1,500 employees of this incredible organization have made positive differences in the lives of Manitobans. Time and again, they have gone above and beyond to ensure the safety of the communities we so proudly serve in this province. It has been a privilege to work alongside them and see first hand, their commitment and professionalism.”

The process to select a new commanding officer will begin shortly.

Further details will be available at a later date.

On Mar. 21, the Gilbert Plains branch of Western Financial Group was able to donate $5,000 to the Parkland Humane Society.

Pictured, from left, is Kristen Rubeniuk, Peanut, Dawn Fillion, Nancy Beattie and PHS volunteer Denise Penrose.

The donation was made available through the Western Financial Group’s charitable arm, The Western Communities Foundation - Infrastructure Grant.

The funds will go towards kennel renovations and other upkeep needs at the shelter. In 2021 the branch was also able to donate $3,144 to the Gilbert Plains Caboose Restoration project, $459.50 to the Gilbert Plains Resource Council activity fund and its annual $750 graduation bursary to Melanie Patenaude.