On Saturday (Oct. 15) the SVRSS Tigers Boys’ Soccer team faced the Garden Valley Zodiacs for at shot at the Manitoba High School Athletic Association championship title. After maintaining their undefeated status all season, the Tigers fell 7-1 to a very strong Zodiacs team.

The U15 female Parkland Rangers attended the Hockey Manitoba U15 Female Showcase in Warren and Stonewall, last weekend, going 0-3 with their lone goal scored by Lily Nemetchek and assisted by Ava Cole.

The team is younger and inexperienced with only five returning players from last year’s team. The players used pink tape all weekend to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The team opened its season, with their home opener, Oct. 14, losing 7-3 to Yellowhead. Madison Colon scored twice and Layne Minshull had the other goal. Nemetchek, Cole and Colon had assists and Olivia Brown made 26 saves in goal.

The next day, the Rangers lost on home ice, 9-1 to the Westman Wildcats, with Colon scoring the only goal unassisted. Morgan Gouldie recorded 47 saves in goal. On Oct. 16 in Brandon, the Rangers fell, 6-0, with Brown making 47 saves. 

By Ed Stozek
For the Herald

People born after World War II, between 1946 and 1964, are defined as baby boomers.

Today, the baby boomer generation is comprised of people aged 58 to 75 and continues to be the largest group in Canada numbering 9,212,640 in the 2021 census.

During my formative baby boomer years several unforgettable events occurred and still stand the test of time.

Every one of my vintage remembers the day that John F. Kennedy was assassinated. On Nov. 22, 1963, I was in Grade 6 and coming home from school. That day I caught a ride with my teacher and we heard about the assassination on the car radio. When I got dropped off at our farm, I quickly ran to the summer kitchen to announce the news. I can still picture my parents and Fred and Irene Wozney plucking chickens. My parents had just recently installed a black-and-white television set so later that evening it was quite the experience to watch the news program relating to the assassination.
Most baby boomers also remember the space race. On July 20, 1969, three American astronauts landed the Apollo 11 module on the moon. The Apollo 11 space program significantly advanced science and boosted the USA in its competition with the Soviet Union. It was amazing to watch the events unfold on television and hear Neil Armstrong’s famous words, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” With an estimated audience of 125 to 150 million viewers, nearly half of the country’s TVs were tuned to CBS anchor Walter Cronkite and his side kick Wally Shirra, a former NASA astronaut.

“Oh, boy,” Cronkite said after the Eagle touched down in the Sea of Tranquility.

“Wally, say something, I'm speechless.” (cbsnews.com)

1969 also provided another “speechless’ event with three days that defined a generation. On Aug. 16 to 18, 1969, some 500,000 fans attended a three-day music festival located on a farm near the small town of Woodstock, New York. Long before the Internet and mass media, I didn’t pay much attention to the festival until 1970 when I started to attend university. Several friends and I went to the Evans Theatre to watch the movie, Woodstock.

In an era of great protest and unrest regarding the civil rights movement, Woodstock was an opportunity for young people to escape into music and spread a message of unity and love at a time when there was opposition to the US’s involvement in the Vietnam War. “The Vietnam Song” performed by Country Joe and the Fish was very prophetic.

The eight-game Canada-Russia exhibition hockey series during September 1972 captivated and united a large Canadian audience. On Saturday, Sept. 2, my parents had gone to a wedding in Dauphin. I had the house to myself to cheer as loud as I wanted to. I was at home prior to moving to Brandon to attend my third year of university. Like most hockey fans I had great expectations that Team Canada would easily defeat the Soviets. It was the first competition between the Soviet National team and a Canadian team represented by NHL professional hockey players.

Thirty seconds into the first period at the Montreal Forum, Canada scored the first goal. Six minutes later they scored the second goal. Soon the superior conditioning and team play of the Russians took over the game and Canada lost 7-3.

After losing game four at Vancouver, Phil Esposito delivered a speech stating how disappointed he was regarding the Canadian fans booing the team. He noted that the team gave it their best and played for the “love of our country.”

In Game 5 in Moscow Canada lost again and were down in the series 3 games to 1. After winning the next two games, Canadians across the country tuned in to watch the final game of the series. TVs were brought into schools and offices as the country came to a standstill. When Paul Henderson scored the winning goal with 34 seconds left to play in the game, the country erupted in celebrations and relished the greatest moment in Canada’s sport history.

As baby boomers we have had our share of some very memorable events during our formative years.

Dear Editor:

Once again, I find myself in a position where I must respond to, in this instant, a newsletter that has been circulated to residents of Russell Binscarth Municipality.

To my dismay, this newsletter is filled with misinformation, and inaccurate and false statements. It begins by making a statement about rumors within the municipality. For the mayor’s edification these are not rumors but are facts that the mayor and her CAO have been unwilling to answer or explain. I am assuming that the author of this document is the mayor since the pronoun “my” is used at the beginning of the newsletter.

More than one councilor noted that they knew nothing of the content of the newsletter until the document arrived in their mailboxes. The public meeting referred to in the first statement was in fact chaired by myself and provided an opportunity for Ms. Napier, to explain her position as it related to her firm’s intellectual property being pirated and distributed under a false pretence. The intent was to once and for all put an end to an issue that has stained the reputation of this municipality and by extension our communities! This was not a closed door meeting! Sadly, the only member(s) from council in attendance were councilor Estha Baseley and former councilor Marg Fraser. Ms. Napier’s presentation was not confrontational but she provided the evidence that in fact supported her claim. Council members had the opportunity along with their CAO to attend, to listen to her presentation and provide an explanation as to their CAO’s erroneous claim regarding the document.

To end all of this, an apology by council to Ms. Napier could have concluded the matter. Instead the mayor has chosen to keep this issue alive in the news letter by continuing to hopelessly defend actions of the CAO in this matter. I must also address the “in camera” issue because the author of the newsletter links this to a former structure of council management and claims that this lacked transparency. In camera sessions have never been part of the regular agenda of council meetings. This is a process that should be rarely used by any council. Its intent is to deal with an issue that requires a private discussion by councilors. In such a situation, a motion to meet “in camera” would be called for with a recorded vote. Following the “in camera” meeting, the issue would be brought back into the general session of the council meeting. The item could be tabled for discussion at a subsequent meeting, or it would be dealt with in the normal course of the same meeting.

Read the full letter in this week's Banner!

Dear Editor: It has been brought to my attention that a poster has surfaced publicly at both Post Offices a few times over this past week aiming to discredit me.

It has and will be removed by Postal Staff as it defies eligibility for what is allowed to be posted and no ownership is identified!

1) I resigned from MRB Council April 13, 2022.

2) Following the posting of the Draft April 26, 2022 meeting minutes, I was contacted by a Ratepayer inquiring if I had been DISQUALIFIED (I replied with “not to my knowledge”) as referred to in Resolution #97/2022 – (Sections 94/95 of the Municipal Act) ACKNOWLEDGING my Resignation.

3) May 4, 2022 I received the letter from Mayor & Council ACKNOWLEDGING my Resignation with an enclosed copy of Resolution #98/2022.

4) In the Municipal minutes there has not been a resolution regarding my Disqualification – had there been, an Appeal process could have happened at that time.

5) Senior Elections Officer confirmed with me, prior to taking my papers out, that following my resignation I was eligible to run for Mayor for the 2022 upcoming election.

Get this week's Russell Banner for more!

Dear Ms. Welwood:

I have been provided a copy of a municipal newsletter circulating in your community with yet another version of events regarding Mr. Fielder’s use of my intellectual property. I am thoroughly confused by the story I read. He states that he “found some practical information on the internet that provided guidance for municipalities” and that the “Manitoba Municipal Administrators liked the information and asked him to share it”.

When I contacted Mr. Fielder upon finding out he had taken my property and was utilizing it with his name as the author he stated, “I took it from another municipal website”. Let’s be clear, the plan he put forward to his Council as his is a word for word copy of my work and not “information used for guidance.” If indeed this was to be a generic use of good information, why then did he place his name on the title page as the author of the plan? Mr. Fielder says he was not aware the plan belonged to my company when he took it as his own, perhaps this is true, however he was definitely aware the work was not his own – and he led everyone to believe it was.

He then states that “he shared it with the disclaimer that he was not the author and thanked the original author for the material”. I printed the plan with his name on it right from the MMA website when I was notified and there was no disclaimer on it. A disclaimer would go on the document being shared so why is it not on the downloaded copy I printed directly from the website he shared it on? Why have I never heard about this disclaimer until now? If this is the case why did MMA not tell me about this when I called them in August of 2020 and informed them they were advertising my work on their website? I am curious why this is the first anyone has heard of the disclaimer? Mr. Fielder states that he offered me a “written and verbal apology”. Mr. Fielder has never apologized for his actions. I had one conversation with him when I discovered the theft of my work, at no time did he apologize and at no time did he state he had forwarded it with a disclaimer noting it was not his work.

If Mr. Fielder innocently used work that was not his, added in a disclaimer and shared it with an Association because he was “asked to do so” then why when he discovered that the plan belonged to me, did he not immediately inform his council of his actions. The information provided to all of you in the newsletter certainly sounds innocent, so my question is why did he not inform your council – his employer of what had transpired. His silence on this matter until confronted with the truth really speaks volumes more than anyone can say.

To read this full Letter to the Editor check out this week's Russell Banner!

Another silver medal banner for this year's SVRSS Tigers Girls’ Golf Team. Pictured (from left to right) are Coach Marni Zamzow, Aaliyah Cochrane, Crystal Zamzow, McKenna Gray and Laina Leadbeater.

By Ed Stozek
For the Herald

Graduating from a traditional rural high school setting and then attending classes at Brandon University from 1970-74 proved to be an educational and a social experience.

The faculty included a fascinating group of academics with many accomplishments in their area of expertise, as well as their other varied interests.

For my first university class I was greeted by professor “Doc” Hannah, a very friendly elderly gentleman with a large mustache. He generally wore a white lab coat and instructed our Zoology course. He was also the trainer for the Brandon University Bobcat hockey team, so sports-related stories were often integrated with his lectures.

Dr. William Norman Hargreaves-Mawdsley, a distinguished looking British gentleman sporting a three-piece suit, imparted his knowledge of European history with three one-hour lectures per week. Published in 1963, his book, A History of Academic Dress in Europe Until the Eighteenth Century, still remains a standard work on the subject.

One of our term assignments included an essay on the history of universities in Europe. In an era before computers and spellcheck I had misspelled the word university by adding an extra “n” throughout the whole essay. Dr. Hargreaves-Mawdsley noted that error in one of the classes and wanted to see the person who misspelled it. Since then I have never misspelled university again.

In 1962, a new Department of Geography at Brandon College was initiated by Dr. John Tyman.

“Three years later, there were five geography course offerings and Dr. John Welsted became the second full-time faculty member. When Brandon College achieved its university status in 1967, the Department began to set its own path. The first bachelor’s degrees with a major in Geography from Brandon University were offered in May 1968. Dr. Tyman served as Dean of Science from 1973 to 1975 and then moved to Australia.” (Brandon University Alumni News 2012)

Dr. Tyman, often started off the first Physical Geography class of a new term by giving a lecture on the history of the evolution of the outhouse.

Some freshmen took detailed notes thinking that this was part of the course and that this was very important information. At the end of the class Dr. Tyman indicated that it was just a joke. Throughout the term we appreciated his wit.

I ended up taking several geography courses. One evening in 1973 I accepted an invitation to bring my guitar and play some music with two of the faculty from the Geography Department.

One of the lecturers, Larry Clark, had a “get together” at his home. He was an excellent jazz musician who played as a solo act or with a band at various Brandon night spots. He had also played with the Country Gentlemen, a band that included Bill Hillman and Barry Forman.
Several years later, Clark took on the role of city planner in Brandon. He really changed careers when he became a forest ranger sitting at a fire tower for a record number of summers near the Big Whiteshell Lake.

While spending a great deal of time looking out for forest fires he occupied himself by playing guitar and composing songs. Those songs became part of a 1982 album entitled, Uncle Smokey Sings Folk Songs for the Summer Crowd with toe tapping tunes such as “Ode to a Wood Tick” and “Oh Boy Do I Love Bears.”

Dr. Richard Rounds also brought his guitar that evening. He was interested in pursuing some coffee house gigs.

We practiced singing and playing “Abilene” and a host of other classic country and folk songs.

Dr. Rounds had joined the Geography Department at Brandon University in 1970 and became the Founding Director of the Rural Development Institute (RDI) at Brandon University in 1989, a position he held for 10 years. He then became a member of the newly-established Department of Rural Development at Brandon University where he served as a professor until his retirement in 2002.

Educators make lasting impressions in a variety of ways.

Knowledge gained from their class time instruction is important, however, playing music one evening still stands out as one of the memorable highlights from attending university. I still occasionally strum the chords to “Abilene.”

Dauphin’s Boyd White and Kevin Thiele lost to Anthony Lee and Souk Xoum of Winnipeg in the doubles final at a tennis tournament in Clear Lake, Sept. 10 and 11.

White and Thiele had finished first in their pool, including a win over Lee and Xoum.

In the playoffs, they defeated another Dauphn duo, Patrick Furkalo and Kent Wiebe in the first round, then defeated the defending champions, Katherine and Sam Lee in the semifinals.

By M.A. Nyquist
For the Herald

The Dauphin’s Culture Days (DCD) committee kicked off its celebration of the 10th anniversary of Dauphin’s Yardfringe and another year of Culture Days activities, with a creative presentation to city council, Sept. 12.

Dauphin’s Yardfringe turns community yards into venues for the arts, where participants travel around by bicycle to actively celebrate culture in unexpected and obvious areas of the community.

Committee member Jean-Louis Guillas noted the group is quite excited about the milestone, adding it has been over a decade the community has participated in the national arts and culture event.

“We are really proud of coming up with a genuinely grassroots festival and celebration of local culture and talent,” he said.

Using a pechakucha format of 20 images of Dauphin’s Yardfringe each projected for only 20 seconds, the presentation celebrated the many people who have been involved over the years, ranging from dance groups, and artists, to community groups and members of the Watson Art Centre (WAC), Dauphin Public Library (DPL) and Fort Dauphin Museum.

“It really was a great chance to celebrate the number of people involved with our organizing committee,” Guillas said.

While all members of council congratulated the committee for the work it has done highlighting art and culture in the community, councillor Kathy Bellemare noted it has a broader role.

“Art goes a long way to uniting people and bringing joy,” she said.

Guillas reminded council Dauphin’s Culture Days 2022 will begin with Yardfest, Sept. 24.

Described as a moving musical adventure where participants are invited to once again travel by bicycle, Yardfest begins at 7 MacLeod Ave. W for some smooth jazz by Johnathon Pacey and friends at 4 p.m. A cycle to 311 Wellington Crescent at 5:15 p.m. that same evening will offer The Fret Shredders with Gary Procyshyn and Chris Flett.

Inspired by Dauphin’s Yardfringe, the event is designed for cycling the city to enjoy musical talent in a casual venue.

“We go around to backyards and meet culture where it lives,” Guillas explained, inviting people to pay a suggested $5 per concert.

The music does not stop that evening, he added, as the WAC is hosting a tribute concert of George Harrison’s music by the Route 10 Collective, at 7 p.m.

This is the first time the Route 10 Collective has made it up to Dauphin, Guillas noted, pointing out the group has been offering great tribute shows in Onanole for a decade, featuring many different artists from the area. Two locally connected musicians, Marc Clement and Bill Acevedo, known as The Handsome Fatties, will be part of the show.

“It’s nice to have local boys featured in the Collective. It’s also a fantastic opportunity to hear great music. They had nearly sold out shows for three nights in Onanole and are also going to Brandon. For the first time, they’re bringing the show to Dauphin and people should absolutely catch that, because there’s amazing musicianship. And it’s a really, really good show. I saw it earlier this summer,” he said, noting the tribute to Harrison will feature some Beatles music, Harrison’s solo work and music he did with British-American supergroup The Traveling Wilburys. Tickets are $30 each and are available at the WAC.

This is the second year of Yardfest with musicians who have been active in the community in leading, or encouraging other artists.

“And we wanted to give them a feature for that and also just remind people that Yardfest leads into Yardfringe the next day, which is our signature event. People love the surprise of Yardfringe that brings some kind of new activity each year,” Guillas said.

Part of the enjoyment of Yardfringe, he noted, is to join the bike cavalcade, discover new and creative activities or events in the community, with a fun group of people. This year the cyclists will not be divided into two groups and will move together as one group.

Get the FULL STORY in this week's Dauphin Herald!