For 30 years, Souris has celebrated the autumn season with a popular outdoor event, Scarecrow Days. For three days, with above average temperatures, from October 1 - 3, the streets of Souris were filled with scarecrows of all shapes and sizes combined with many community events.
“The level of participation in the activities and promotions offered by organizations and businesses met or exceeded our expectations,” said Chair Pam Whitfield.
The Scarecrow Competition theme was “30 years: Party like it’s 1992”, which did bring some flash backs of Michael Jackson, Prince and Elton John.
The last veteran of World War II living in Boissevain has reached her 100th birthday.
On Thursday, September 30, Minnie Pearce celebrated making the century mark. A resident of Evergreen Place personal care home, she had a special birthday celebration, which included a parade in her honour. Her son Rick said the parade came about when the family wanted to do something to mark their mother’s big day that others in Evergreen could enjoy as well. A few days before the parade, he said they were planning to have a few animals involved, as his mother always liked them, with the idea she could be outside if the weather was good.
“Mom always liked parades,” Rick said. “It started as a little parade and grew a bit, and as something the other residents could see too.”
Souris community members got behind the idea of delivering a spellbinding event to residents and visitors. Gossip in the Graveyard was part of Heritage Days 2021 and it sold out very quickly.
“We had three gossip performances at capacity of 75,” explained Eleanor Thompson, a volunteer who coordinated the event with other volunteers from the Souris-Glenwood Chamber of Commerce. “We were able to donate $710 to Hillcrest Museum.”
According to Thompson, due to the popularity of the event, encore performances are in the works for October 3 during Scarecrow Days.
Not only were organizers of the Boissevain-Morton-Whitewater Grow Project able to harvest a good crop for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, but also they were able to share the day with friends for the first time in two years.
Volunteers hit the field outside of Fairfax on September 11 to bring in the crop of wheat. According to Darren Peters of the committee, the rain held back and they were able to have a successful outing.
“It went great,” Peters said. “We had a good turnout and a great crop. I mean, I think we have all been surprised, the farmers in the area are generally surprised with the quality of the crops and that field was better than the others.”
They were able to get over 56 bushels to the acre with a total of more than 16,000 bushels of #2 Red Spring Wheat. They hit the field after lunch at about 12:45pm and everything was finished by about 4:30. Eight combines, two grain carts and 11 trucks participated and everything was at the Viterra terminal outside of Boissevain, with a little patience from the staff, by the end of the day.
Peters said it is always hard to tell how many people will participate as the harvest date always has a last minute quality, but they were happy with the turnout.
With the border opening up, and a new app provided by the government for travellers entering the country, a local attraction is starting to see some Canadian visitors.
The federal government opened up the Canadian border early last month for US visitors the first time since March 2020. As a part of this, they introduced the ArriveCan app. It can be downloaded on a smart phone and is a tool to assist travellers entering the country or returning home to Canada.
All travellers, with a few exceptions, have to use ArriveCan to enter the country by land, air or water. A trip must be registered on the app 72 hours before arriving at a border crossing.
When a person goes on ArriveCan, they enter relevant information, including their vaccination status. This includes type of vaccines and dates of immunization. Passport info must also be included. Your date and time of arrival to the border and your quarantine plan are also a part of the information you must provide. You will be given an online ticket, which can be presented to a border services officer or airline carrier. The app and receipt are not a replacement for your passport or vaccination information, however.
Former Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister chose one of the most beautiful sites in the province to say a final farewell.
On Monday, August 30, Pallister, who announced he would be stepping down on September 1, formally announced funding to the International Peace Garden, alongside North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum. Each territory that contains the attraction committed $7.5 million for a capital infrastructure and facilities redevelopment plan. This was the last event Pallister would appear at as premier.
Turtle Mountain MLA Doyle Piwniuk, a member of the Peace Garden Board, emceed the event, the first of its kind at the attraction for nearly two years since the coming of COVID. Pallister began with giving credit to the staff and board for the work they do to keep the garden in good shape, then moved on to recognizing the personal significance of the day.
This year marks the fifth Community Section Fundraiser for Deloraine-Winchester and partners. The project began in 2017 as a fundraiser to offset the cost of the new community hall/curling rink complex. In subsequent years, other organizations became recipients of the project profits.
In 2021, two quarter sections were sown to soybeans in the field west of Deloraine.
There are seven partners involved in the 2021 fundraiser. The organizations include Wee ‘R’ Special Daycare (playground), Deloraine Curling Club, Deloraine Golf Club, Deloraine-Winchester Historical Society, Deloraine Fire Department, Turtle Mountain Bible Camp and the Municipality of Deloraine-Winchester. The Municipality of Deloraine-Winchester are administrators and carry the expenses.
Jake Ayre of Minto is not exactly sure where he will be on September 9, but he is hoping he will have earned his way home by the end of the day.
The Keystone Agricultural Producers second vice president is participating in the STARS Rescue on the Island Event. It is a fundraiser for the Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service air ambulance organization, and Ayre said he was happy to be involved.
“Farmers and KAP have a close working relationship with STARS,” Ayre explained, “In fact, they have that relationship with all of rural Manitoba. It is an important service, and that’s why I said I’d do it.”
Each of the four participants will leave early that morning by a STARS helicopter and be whisked away to an undisclosed island in Manitoba. They will participate in a number of challenges related to the day of an air ambulance attendant. As Ayre explained, they would include flagging down a helicopter, dragging a dummy like an injured person, etc. They will be wearing the big red jumpsuits of STARS personnel for the day.
If you could picture a person born to run a business, you’d have a picture of Kaitlyn Fraser. The 27-year-old was born in Souris to Dianna and the late Dean Fraser, both accomplished business people themselves. Fraser learned what it takes to run a business at her parent’s knee. She carried that knowledge into her own future success with her business in BC.
Fraser is the founder of Prism Equipment, a company in Salmon Arm, BC that manufactures systems for modern cannabis operations, both cultivation and extraction.
Not only did she create that business, she is the Head of Partnerships for Pantheon Cannabis Group, is currently completing construction on a growing facility, and has received Health Canada approval for her extraction facility.
Although a gopher might be a beloved mascot for Saskatchewan Roughrider fans, it is far from popular with prairie farmers.
The gopher, or Richardson ground squirrel, is a major part of the landscape of North America, known for communicating through singing or chirping, its upright stance when looking around, and its enterprising underground tunnel system. They are also a major bane to farmers everywhere who cannot see their numbers cut down enough.
Jack Kemp, who lives and farms several miles northwest of Boissevain recently put out an ad looking for hunters to come and cut down the gopher population on his property. He has had some success from this. Speaking on Monday, July 12, he had gopher shooters out that day, but was still looking for some parties in the future.
With one phase of the assisted living project in Boissevain ending and another beginning, plans are for new tenants to begin moving in in a month’s time.
The 35-suite facility, recently named Cherry Creek Place, has been under construction for more than a year, with dreaming and work going on for several years before that. Everything is moving to its final stage, with the organizing committee very pleased about the development.
“Everything is going really well, we’re just finishing up the details,” explained George Heide of Southwest Seniors Housing, who are developing the project. “We just had a meeting with the contractor and everything is on line to be ready August 1.”
Cherry Creek Place will offer its senior tenants comfortable suites that allow for semi-independent living, with amenities like meals and laundry on-site. It is located in the south end of Boissevain, right next to the health centre.
Long-time custodian at Deloraine School, Dan De Kezel probably has had a lot more influence on the students than he ever could have imagined. Tony Franklin, principal, asked the grade four and five students to complete the sentence: “When I think about Mr. D.K. (as he is affectionately known)…”
Nearly every student answered with “He always smiles” or “He always says hi” or “He always talks to me”. These answers speak volumes. School is difficult for some students and for others, family life is challenging, so to have a constant, reassuring person simply smiling and speaking has beneficial and long-lasting effects.
Other comments included kind, awesome, hard worker, cleans up messes, funny, friendly, one of a kind, likes shiny floors, fixes clocks, gets balls from the roof in gym, stops and chats kindly, happy, always in a good mood, rock star, welcoming, mindful, a good influence, reachable, young looking, loves Deloraine, always at hockey and ball games, one of the best people I’ve ever met and he’s dedicated 30 years to cleaning Deloraine Schools. That is quite a remarkable list of attributes.
When COVID hit in the spring of 2020, an annual event impacted heavily was high school graduation. Across the province, schools and grad classes had to adapt to the new realities, scrambling to find a way to celebrate the special achievement while adhering to social distancing rules. While the grade 12 students fretted and planned, those juniors in grade 11 watched and were often thankful it was not them. Now, a year later, they are facing the same situation, the same uncertainty and even heavier restrictions.
With Manitoba as a hot spot for COVID infections, Boissevain School is one of many in the area looking to a second coronavirus grad. Recently, the Class of 2021 chose their valedictorians for the year, Zach Challner and Carter Maurice. For them, it is the usual mixture of knowing they have reached a milestone, with the knowledge they will always look back with a smile.
“In terms of academic success and leadership, our class is very strong so I’m extremely honoured to be a valedictorian as there are many others that are worthy. As far as graduating goes, it’s very bittersweet,” Challner stated. “On one hand I’m excited to move on to the next chapter but on the other hand it will be sad leaving Boissevain School.”
Over the last few weeks, teachers in Boissevain School have been taking advantage of warm weather and the overall community to take education outdoors.
Young students have been seen all over town getting involved in different activities. Principal Stephanie Emberly said all kindergarten to grade eight students have been participating where and when they can. Some are having classes outdoors while others are involved in planned activities.
“We are building outdoor education into our planning more and more,” Emberly explained. “It has been a growing interest that started with the development of the outdoor classroom and natural playground and will continue to grow. Outdoor education has numerous benefits for students cognitively, physically, socially, and emotionally.”
Emberly said teachers have been connecting their classes to the environment around them. As she explained, science is a natural for the outdoors. Social studies have a citizenship component, so helping around Boissevain or holding a fundraiser for the community works well.
Like a sentinel, Souris’ famous Hillcrest Museum has been sitting high above the banks of the Souris River for more than a century but now it is in need of some tender love and care and the current board is supplying that in spades.
Last winter the roof began leaking and although the board was aware there was a problem, they thought they had done enough work to keep it leak free, at least for a while. Unfortunately the work merely supplied a band-aid solution and it began leaking in earnest this winter. Damage occurred in the Butterfly Room upstairs, in the adjoining playroom, and downstairs in the main parlour where seepage has run throughout the original tin celling tiles.
It became apparent that major work needed to be done and estimates came in at $80,000 plus.
It might have been a long time coming, and it might not be all that is needed, but the rains that came on the May long weekend were in time to help area producers face the rest of the growing season with more optimism.
The area had a dry year in 2020, and not a lot of snow over the winter. This meant there was not a lot of water on or in the ground this spring when seeding started. Precipitation was needed and needed right away. The forecast called for substantial rain on the May long weekend, although the amounts bounced around as the target date approached. In the end it was spotty, and not near what some predictions had been. For many, however, it was a lifeline. In Boissevain itself, the rain was in the three quarters to an inch level (up to 25 mm), most of it coming on May 21-22. According to the Manitoba Agriculture Crop Report for May 25, the recorded rainfall in the Southwest was between 25 and 35 mm (an inch to an inch and 3/8). Ninette reached as high as 73 mm (nearly three inches).
Keystone Agricultural Producers President Bill Campbell said it was about an inch at his home near Minto. It was spread over a few occurrences, he explained, which meant it went into the soil without puddling or flooding. It was certainly welcome.
More...
Friends of Buck Neufeld want to keep him a part of the growing project he was a major contributor to despite his sudden passing and feel they have found the way to do so.
Neufeld was killed in a vehicle accident outside of Boissevain on May 7. The loss is felt heavily by family and friends, and definitely those involved in the Boissevain Morton Whitewater (BMW) Growing Project, which grows crops each year for donation to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. According to project member Audrey Paschke, they will definitely miss him.
“When we would do the harvest, Buck was one of the last trucks to leave the project because he would visit with everyone,” Paschke said. “He would do everything he could to help the project. It was one of those things he was quite passionate about.”
It has been a good 25 years for Steads Farm Supply in Boissevain, although they did have to celebrate the anniversary differently than other years.
David and Diane Stead opened Steads Farm Supply in April 1996. Having reached the 25-year milestone, they are marking the anniversary, although with COVID, it is not the way they would have originally planned, David Stead said.
“You wonder where the time goes,” Stead said. “We never expected (the business) to develop the way it did. If it had been a normal year, we would have had an open house. Instead, we have something different this year.”
Stead said he talked to his dealers, and they all came through with 25 prizes. They have been holding 25 draws for 25 days, which will wrap up on May 15. There has been a variety of farm supply items going out, which will make plenty of those entered happy.
New housing going in at the International Peace Garden will serve a double purpose.
The attraction along the Canada-US border just south of Boissevain is in the midst of a renewal project near the campground. According to Peace Garden CEO Tim Chapman, they are replacing domestic units used by their summer staff, getting ready for the 2021 tourist season.
“These new units will help us attract more seasonal staff who do not live within a day drive of here,” Chapman explained. “They will be a nice place for the horticulture and ground staff to stay when they work out here.”
One week after tightening COVID rules in the province, Manitoba has upped the ante once again, this time for a month.
On April 26, Premier Brian Pallister and Chief Provincial Public Health Officer Brent Roussin appeared before the people once again to give them the bad news. On April 19, the government had made small tweaks to the Code Red restrictions with the hope they would be good enough to stem the tide of the rising cases, including tougher variants, in the third wave. However, after a weekend that saw skyrocketing cases, it was deemed not enough.
“The third wave of the pandemic is here. It’s a race between variants and vaccines right now in most of our country,” Pallister said, “and right now the variants are winning.”
As the premier stated, they started to strengthen public health orders the previous week to help stem the problem and try to keep from a full shutdown. In spite of collective efforts, and some of the toughest rules in the country, the test positivity and hospitalization rates are going up. Pallister said it was a tough spot, but not unprecedented as we faced them before.
The new rules would be in place for four weeks, starting Wednesday, April 28. This would carry it beyond the May long weekend, the traditional beginning of outdoor times
“It is bad news to some but understandable. It is the unofficial beginning of summer. We will have to delay that unofficial start a little this year.”
Roussin said they worked hard to keep numbers under control, but the variants became a wild card. We are now in a similar position as we were last October, when new shutdowns began.