The issue of who will be the town’s sanitation pick-up service provider was a hot topic at the Ratepayers Meeting on Wednesday evening.

What was thought to be the difference between Roblin Sanitation’s tender and OSS’s was made public and was actually incorrectly portrayed.

“There were statements made that Roblin Sanitation’s tender was $32,000 higher than OSS and my question is how did you arrive at that amount?” asked Greg Perchaluk. “Roblin Sanitation’s tender has an amount for residential and commercial and OSS’ only had for the residential, nothing yet for the commercial, so how did Council arrive at amount as the difference between the two?” “I had said $30,000 to $32,000 was the difference,” said Misko. “I had just taken from my memory $89,000 and $119,000. Those numbers weren’t quite right.

In Roblin Sanitation’s case their amount included GST. The one from OSS didn’t, so it was closer to $20,000 on the weekly, on the bi-weekly it was about $48,000.

“We considered the way it was proposed to us, that was including the commercial pick up. Whatever wasn’t needed for the residential, those containers would be reduced and we’d have front load pick up on the other. We don’t yet officially have that number, hence why we haven’t signed a contract. At this point, we’re still looking to get confirmation on everything."

Check this week's Review for more!

Aurora House along with the Manitoba Association of Women’s Shelters (MAWS) have been busy this month creating awareness for November is the National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Several engaging activities were scheduled throughout November and were free to participate in.
“MAWS hosted a virtual Film Fest every week of November,” said MAWS Communication Specialist Amrita Chavan. “We held our final screening on Nov. 25, which was the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. We screened Dr. Gabor Mate’s award-winning documentary, The Wisdom of Trauma.

Every year the Manitoba Credit Unions Order of Merit is awarded to individuals who have demonstrated a significant commitment to the Manitoba Credit Union system, as an employee or elected official. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, The Manitoba Credit Unions Order of Merit was unable to facilitate a ceremony for two years. Two weeks ago, a former Swan Valley Credit Union (SVCU) Board member received the Manitoba Credit Unions Order of Merit for 2021.
“Alex Eggie’s time on the Board from 1988 to 2012, including nine years as President, was during an important era in SVCU’s nearly 70-year history,” said SVCU CEO Craig Zamzow. “Hailing from the Big Woody District, this community of people is known for their rarely matched pride and volunteerism, and included many who were founding SVCU directors in 1953.
“Alex brought that commitment to the SVCU Board and set a great example for fellow directors and managers. Alex was a key leader when SVCU decided to expand and opened a branch in Benito, purchased the Bank of Montreal branch in Swan River, and purchased three insurance agencies as the credit union diversified.
“I still clearly remember Alex explaining to new directors about the amount of time that should be invested in reviewing Board packages before the meeting to ensure everyone was prepared,” said Zamzow. “His passion for fairness, commitment to community, and willingness to ask the tough questions when needed, still help guide our leadership group today.”
Eggie was drawn into being a part of the SVCU through his interest in a grassroots collective approach to providing a need or service in the community and helping it grow.
“I was always interested in the cooperative movement and one of the SVCU directors put my name forward to be elected to the board, and that was how I got started in it,” said Alex Eggie. “I was elected in 1988 and over the years I was Vice-President for two years, President for nine years and then was our delegate from District 6 to Credit Union Central for nine years. Then after that, I served on the SVCU Board as a board member for three years after that.”
Over the years Eggie has seen and experienced firsthand, how the SVCU has grown to what it has become today.
“The growth the SVCU has seen over the years has been significant,” said Eggie. “One of the highlights was that after the difficulties in the 1980s with high interest rates and accounts that were overdue, was the fact that in a few years we were able to pay patronage dividends because we had 10 percent equity. From then, we continued to grow. We were around $40 million when I went on the SVCU Board to just about $200 million when I left.
“Along the way we acquired the Bank of Montreal branch in Swan River and opened up a branch in Benito. There was growth besides the natural ones that we acquired. We built a new building, which is environmentally friendly. We acquired an insurance group that is still active today. That was to provide better service and wealth management to our members.”
Eggie has enjoyed his time on the SVCU Board and saw many benefits that the SVCU has brought to the Valley.
“My time I spent on Credit Union Central’s Board was rewarding,” said Eggie. “I had an idea of how the whole system was performing.
Despite all the achievements we had, I will always remember best the people that I met while I was on the board.”
Eggie travelled to Winnipeg for the Manitoba Credit Unions Order of Merit ceremony, which was held on Nov. 17, at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
“It was a well-done event,” said Eggie. “The Manitoba Credit Union presented the Order of Merit to recipients for the past two years, but because of COVID-19, they couldn’t do presentations in person.
There were five members in total that received the Order of Merit.”
Other past and current SVCU Board members were also in attendance to see Eggie presented with this honour.
“I’ve learned a lot from Alex over the years and am proud to count him as a key mentor for me personally,” said Zamzow. “Being recognized in the Manitoba Credit Union’s Order of Merit is very fitting and I was honoured to be able to be in attendance for Alex’s special day of recognition, acknowledging his significant positive impact to SVCU and the Manitoba Credit Union System.”

As part of Westoba Credit Unions Community Investment Strategy, they created a charitable fund in partnership with the Brandon Area Community Foundation to create the Inspire Program. Westoba Credit Union employees donated annually to the fund and in 2020, 50 percent of Westoba Inspire projects were funded by staff contributions.
“There are eight Westoba Inspire committee members throughout the province,” said Westoba Inspire Committee Member Cheryl Antonio. “Organizations fill out an application for what they are looking to use the money for.
“We have seen applications focused on things like recreation, animal welfare, senior centres and daycares to name a few. The committee awarded our local spraypark project $25,000 several years ago.

The U11 Stampeders hosted their home tournament this past weekend, coming out on top...

The Pas Tri Community Foundation Inc. is a charitable organization and member of the Winnipeg Foundation. As a community foundation, it is built through generous donations of all sizes that are pooled and permanently invested in a perpetual endowment fund. The original donations are never spent. From there, The Pas Tri Community Foundation uses the income earned to make grants to various local charitable groups in the tri-community area.
The Pas Tri Community Foundation’s mission statement is serving the communities of The Pas, Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN) and R.M. of Kelsey, by maintaining and administering a permanent endowment fund aimed at strengthening and improving the quality of life today and into the future. Currently the Board of Directors for The Pas Tri Community Foundation includes President Jill Wilkinson, Vice President Don Dunnigan and Director Jim Berscheid. Board member applications can be found on The Pas Tri Community Foundation website at www.tptcf.ca.

Bullying seems to be a topic that is always in the news and despite the stories that come forward about these types of incidents; there very rarely is there a solution to this unacceptable form of behaviour. Recently seven-year-old Opaskwayak Cree Nation youth Wynston Martin was a recent victim of bullying when two young men stole his hockey card collection he was carrying, while waiting to get on the bus.
Wynston was extremely proud of his hockey card collection that he had been building for years. He’s a dedicated and true fan of the St. Louis Blues. Wynston was devastated by the loss of his collection, so his grandmother turned to social media for some support and asked if anyone would be willing to donate any hockey cards to her grandson, to help rebuild his collection.