The community of Deloraine came out in droves for the red carpet premiere of a short film made by a few of their own.

On July 23, “Whitetail” a film by Nick Dietrich and Laughlin McKinnon, made its debut at the Deloraine Theatre. The cast, crew and much of the town were out in full force to see a locally made movie. It was everything they were looking for, McKinnon said.

“It was awesome,” he stated. “We hoped to have a full house and we did. You couldn’t ask for more. That was the dream, to have a premiere of a movie in Deloraine, raise some money for the Ag Society, and we met those goals.”

As McKinnon explained, the venture started when Dietrich, a Deloraine native who is a filmmaker in BC, was on the cusp of a larger film project. He wanted a smaller one to practice putting all aspects of it together. He asked McKinnon if he would help with it, to write a short film.

“We were thinking maybe three to seven minutes. He has an impressive career in videography, but he was going to be looking after everything, editing, directing, cinematography. He wanted to try something short, low stress, before he moved on to something bigger.”

McKinnon said it caught him off guard, as he had not done anything like that. He got a skeleton of what Dietrich was looking for, and a story including a storm-stayed drug dealer, a deer hunter and more came into focus. There was an immediate desire to have a local feel with local place names used. There would be a hunting cabin, a gun, some tension and what McKinnon referred to as a “twisted re-telling of the Hansen Buck (world record typical whitetail shot) story.”

A longstanding community fundraising project will be contributing to a major local initiative that will impact the entire area.

The 1/4 section used to raise money for many projects in Deloraine was seeded on June 1. According to Deloraine-Winchester Recreation Manager Kirsty Mann, it was a successful day.

“The seeding went well and conditions were excellent,” Mann stated. “The seeding was completed by volunteers, along with the spraying and land preparation required for seeding. We are grateful for the continued support of the volunteers who help make this fundraiser possible each year.”

Canola was chosen this year, as wheat was planted in 2025. Located a mile west of Deloraine on Highway 21, the 1/4 section is the same they have rented since 2017. It is the first time the Community Fundraiser has only used a 1/4 section as the second was given up and not replaced.

Delwynda Court hosted a successful Alzheimer’s walk Wednesday, May 27 in Deloraine, with many members of the community coming out to support the walk.

Dr. McKinnon gave a presentation about Alzheimer’s. He spoke about the importance of community. 

The best treatment for Alzheimer’s is familiarity, regularly coming and being a friendly face, said McKinnon. Comfort is infinitely more important than any medication such as giving a hug, holding their hand and just being present.

“Events like this bring awareness to an invisible disease that effects so many in the community,” said event organizers Caryn Cassan and Sarah Kliever. “This event will be a highlight for our residents, especially with our youth. It means more to them than you realize.”

Locals could be forgiven for thinking we are in the middle of March instead of May.

Although spring made a few tentative forays into our schedule, the season of optimism has been mostly missing in action. Temperatures have been well below normal, with only occasional pleasant days. The sun has been absent much of the time as well, with dark clouds keeping everything fairly gloomy. 

That was before the hurricane that preceded May Long.

On Thursday, May 14, the winds Manitoba is known for went for broke. The high winds started in the morning, and by afternoon, the gusts were gaining in intensity. It did not help that the relatively dry weather had made for very dusty conditions. Something akin to a cool sandstorm hit the area, making driving highly hazardous. Some areas lost power and fires were started when poles or wires came down. 

Whether or not he could fly a kite, kick the football or have the nerve to talk to the little redheaded girl, Charlie Brown teaches lessons about life to everyone. Some of those lessons were taught at Deloraine Winchester Theatre from April 30 to May 2.

Deloraine School presented “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”, the 1967 musical based on the long running and much-loved comic strip “Peanuts” by Charles Schultz. Director Elizabeth Brown, an educational assistant at the school, said the musical was chosen as their annual project as she was looking for a strong follow up to last year’s “Mamma Mia”. She said she wanted something as heartwarming as the ABBA epic, but totally different. Brown added she kept in mind who the graduating cast members were, as she wanted them to have a great last experience. The story was very important.

“‘You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown’ is about perseverance, friendship and the courage it takes to keep trying even when things don’t go your way,” Brown explained. “Charlie Brown’s journey reminds us of very real moments in life-hope, doubt, humour, and resilience. Bringing these characters and story to life has been a true joy, and I am incredibly proud of the cast and crew who have poured their energy, heart and creativity into each step of the process along the way. This show truly couldn’t have fit our cast better.”

They started rehearsals in January and practiced after school twice a week.

Although it was well planned, Teresa Bell’s retirement at the Deloraine Post Office came a little more quickly than expected.

 “I had always decided that I wouldn’t stay longer than 40 years and I decided back in November that April would be a good time as it would allow me to be more available for when seeding starts and I would be home to help out more on the farm,” Bell explained after her last day on April 17. “At the time April seemed like a long way away, but it sneaked up quickly which started to make me a little sad as it meant not seeing the people that I have enjoyed serving the past 40 years.”

Bell started at the post office on June 6, 1986. It was the beginning of a four-decade career that would see her take over as postmaster and work with around 20 different people. It all came about after a change in the office. As Bell explained, Postmaster Keith Maxwell had just retired, with Bob Astle taking on the position. She walked in, asked if there was a position, and put in an application. Bell wanted to stay in Deloraine and knew it would be a great place to work. She was hired to a part-time position, which worked well with her job as health care aide in Bren Del Win Lodge. Bell stayed at the lodge until more hours were available at the post office in 1987.

She worked under Astle for 15 years, along with others at the time like Evelyn Dailey, Elaine Franklin and Ellen Palmer, before she took over the office in Waskada. When Astle retired in July of 2001, Bell took over the postmaster role. She said he had trained her to take the position, having her take his duties when he was on leave and having her fill in for him as much as possible, attend meetings and training sessions.

“He gave me the opportunity to excel, and I am forever grateful to him for allowing me the freedom to do that. Bob was a great boss and I have so many great memories while working with him.”

Members of the Deloraine community were able to get a first hand look at what the new spillway project will achieve at the Turtlehead Creek Dam.

On Wednesday, January 21, members of Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure were on hand in the community with information regarding their structural rehabilitation work at the Deloraine Dam, south and east of the town. According to a provincial spokesperson, meetings like this are an essential part of the process.

“MTI engaged with stakeholders throughout the design phase and recently held a public open house in Deloraine on January 21,” the spokesperson stated. “The open house presented the proposed upgrades to the dam, the proposed construction schedule and the benefits of the project. The phased construction plan will minimize short term impacts to the nearby golf course and other nearby properties, while the project provides long-term benefits to the area.”

The work on Turtlehead Creek is estimated to cost $16.8 million. It will include repairs to the low-level conduit of the dam and reconstruction of the spillway. 

“These upgrades will have a minimum service life of 50 years and will improve water security for the area, reduce flooding impacts and improve drainage.”