Drugs Seized After Traffic Stop

An Ontario man was arrested on drug trafficking charges after a traffic stop last night.

Officers from the Manitoba First Nation's Police Service's Sandy Bay detachment pulled over a vehicle at roughly 9 pm last night.

During the stop, officers formed the grounds and detained the occupants for a Controlled Drugs and Substances Act investigation.

A search yielded over 100 grams of suspected cocaine and crack cocaine which was then seized and the driver arrested.

26-year-old Sicetus Akhinagba of Brampton, Ontario was charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking and was held in custody to appear in Portage La Prairie court today.

The 3 other occupants of the vehicle were released without charges.

Details: Contributed by Michael Brossart; Published: Apr 30, 2024 - 6:00 pm

In accordance with the Municipal Act, the City of Dauphin will present it's budget for the 2024 fiscal year to interested residents during a public hearing.

The gathering is set for 5 pm next Monday, May 6th at City Hall.

Copies of the Financial Plan will be available for review, as of 12 noon on Friday at City Hall, as well as through the city's website.

Anyone wishing to speak, register an objection, or ask questions to council about the plan can do so at this meeting.

Details: Contributed by Jeff Henson; Published: Apr 30, 2024 - 4:00 pm

This year's Tim Horton's Smile Cookie campaign got off to a great start on Monday for the Dauphin restaurant.

Local franchisee Greg Crisanti says they sold 5,567 of the special cookies during day one of the week-long promotion.

That means $8,350 has already been raised for the Smile Zone Foundation, to be used towards the creation of a Smile Zone at the Dauphin Regional Hospital.

Dauphin has been the top -selling store per capita in Manitoba over the past four years and has been number two in all of Canada during that time as well.

Details: Contributed by Jeff Henson; Published: Apr 30, 2024 - 2:44 pm

The city has announced that there was a printing error in their May Waste, Recycling, and Yard Waste collection schedule stickers.

A corrected schedule for the month has been posted to the city's Facebook page, and residents are asked to reference that schedule instead for the month.

Details: Contributed by Jeff Henson; Published: Apr 30, 2024 - 1:00 pm

Dauphin is set to welcome CUPE delegates from across the province this week, as the organization holds its 60th annual Manitoba convention at Credit Union Place.

It begins at 1 pm this afternoon (April 30th) with Sector Conferences, followed by a Meet and Greet tonight in the Aspen Lodge room.

Among the speakers scheduled for the conference are CUPE National reps Mark Hancock and Candice Rennick, as well as Dauphin MLA Ron Kostyshyn, and federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh - who will be speaking via pre-recorded video.

Elections are also slated to be held for several CUPE Manitoba executive positions.

The conference wraps up on Friday.

Details: Contributed by Jeff Henson; Published: Apr 30, 2024 - 11:37 am

Arden Baskier's future may now look a little bit different than she thought it would even a few weeks ago.

That's thanks to the 26th annual Skills Manitoba Competition that took place earlier this month at Red River Polytechnic in Winnipeg. Baskier, from the Swan River area, took part in the one-day event for the first time and it was one to remember.

The grade 11 student from Swan Valley Regional Secondary School had to complete a few different sections that showed off her Workplace Safety skills. She had to do a toolbox talk, a hard inspection, and she had to inspect a hazard that was being controlled in another skill. While it was a challenge at times for Baskier, she remained confident and impressed the judges while she did.

"It was an incredible experience, it made me start thinking if I want to pursue something in trades when I graduate high school," said Baskier with a smile on her face. "Competing at RRC was amazing, there are so many different trades available and that's one of the things that I was most amazed about."

Competing against students from across the province, Baskier was able to take home a bronze medal in Workplace Safety. So not only was Baskier amazed by the experience, but she was also amazed with how she finished.

"I felt great to win a bronze medal, I turned to my friends when they called my name and I was amazed," offered Baskier. "I looked at them and I was shocked honestly, I was very proud of myself."

Baskier wasn't the only student from Swan River to win a medal at the event as Sammy Jo Moshenko finished third in the Welding competition while Nolan Mangin placed third in the Outdoor Power and Rec Equipment competition.

Baskier is good friends with Sammy Jo and Nolan.

"I was very proud of them, they both did so well," ended Baskier. "It was a pretty amazing experience and I am so happy for my friends that they had success. It was a great day."

So it was a triple trifecta of success for three bright students from Swan River.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Apr 30, 2024 - 10:00 am

The Buckwold Bridge will be getting a facelift through some of the spring and summer months.

This will close off any eastbound traffic during this period, but Director Of City Works Mike VanAlstyne says it is a well-needed reno.

"The bridge is 50 years old and it's never had any serious maintenance work done on it so it's time for a new surface. The contractor will be replacing the deck one half at a time keeping westbound traffic open."

This nearly 1.1 million dollar project is expected to last until mid-June unless there are unforeseen complications.

Westbound traffic of vehicles no wider than 3 meters and pedestrian traffic will still be allowed during construction.

While planning a new route from these bridge repairs might be a pain, we'll get over it soon enough!

Details: Contributed by Michael Brossart; Published: Apr 30, 2024 - 9:00 am

The 2024 tax deadline is coming tonight.

With a matter of hours to file your taxes left, the Canadian Revenue Agencies wants to tell you how you can file in just a few minutes!

Adam Finley from the CRA offers some excellent tips for those procrastinating on taxes.

"I tell my friends this every year, get signed up for CRA online services. It has (in most cases) all your tax information like T4 slip and credits from previous years"

Finley also notes how easy it is to sign up for this online service.

"We have a new service called Document Verification Service. if you have a piece of ID like a passport or driver's license and a tax slip from last year, you can register in a few minutes."

Taxes don't have to be a long, painful, drawn-out process, and the fact that many people consider them to be that often leads to procrastination.

The real issue, Finley notes, is the consequences of filing late.

It could cause a delay in things like GST and the canada child benefit if you recieve those things. If you have a balancing owning, you might be subject to a late filing fee"

The time to put it off is running out, so check out the CRA Website and learn how to file your taxes faster than ever before.

Details: Contributed by Michael Brossart; Published: Apr 30, 2024 - 6:00 am

Update:

The situation was resolved peacefully. No one was physically injured and officers are no longer on scene.

___

The RCMP is currently present at 4th Avenue SE in Dauphin, addressing an incident at a residence.

Officers are diligently working to ensure a safe resolution. For the safety of everyone involved, the public is kindly requested to avoid the area until further updates are provided.

More information will be shared when it becomes available.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Apr 29, 2024 - 3:46 pm

Local musical theater lovers are in for a treat this weekend.

Local group Theater Amisk is set to perform "Co-op - The Musical" this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the Watson Arts Centre.

Peter Nadolny of Theater Amisk wrote and directed the show.

"I moved back to Dauphin and I started shopping at the Co-op and I noticed that the conversations that I was hearing in the aisles or at the checkout were conversations that you could hear at any Co-op across the country. They are all kind of the same and Co-op is a place where people kind of go to visit with each other as much as they do to shop. And I thought 'what a great base for a play.

Nadolny adds the cast of 22 includes several new actors to Theater Amisk.

Martijn Van Lujin says this is a homegrown play that will be performed for the first time ever in our community.

"And that is the really unique thing because this is a play that can be performed in every Canadian town. And it is kind of cool that we are the first one. And I really hope, and Peter gets shy when I talk about this, but that he can take this all over the place, because it really that good."

Show times are 7 pm Friday and Saturday and 3 pm on Sunday.

Some tickets are still left at a cost of $25, and are available at the Watson Arts Centre between noon and 5, or by calling 204-638-6231.