Candidates vying for a seat around the Municipality of Rhineland council table participated in a forum Thursday in Altona. The event, hosted by the Altona and District Chamber of Commerce, offered voters a chance to hear about the candidates' priorities and goals leading up to the October 26th municipal election.
Elections will take place in Ward 2 and Ward 3 in the municipality.
Some of the questions answered by the candidates were related to the future of the ER at the Altona Memorial Health Centre, as well as doctor and nurse recruitment and retention, managing water issues in times of both drought and flood, support for the Kiddie Sunshine Daycare project in Altona, and farmland taxes.
Below you will find the opening statements of each candidate, listed in the order they spoke to those in attendance at the Rhineland Pioneer Centre Thursday evening.
Incumbent, John Dueck, was first to speak. He is running in Ward 3.
“I am completing my fifth year as your councilor for the Municipality of Rhineland.
I was born and raised on a mixed farm four miles northeast of Horndean. I'm the 7th child of 12 siblings.
I got my early education in a one-room country school but took my high school here at WC Miller.
I wasn't sure what I was going to do after graduating, but I was sure that I wasn't going to be a poor dirt farmer.
On January 1st of ‘72, my dad passed away from cancer and it was the start of my farming career. After seven good years, I changed my mind on becoming a full-time farmer. Knowing that I couldn't afford to make too many mistakes, I got my AG diploma at the U of M. This was in the fall of 1979.
Something else happened in ‘79.
I met a beautiful young woman who was to become my bride. I graduated in the spring of ‘81 on the Dean's Honor Roll, and married Cheryl in the fall.
Cheryl and I have farmed together for 40-plus years and started contemplating slowing down when a position opened up in my ward in 2017 for a one-year term on Council, I decided to jump in. I won the election.
It was a steep learning curve but rewarding enough that I ran in the ‘18 election where I was acclaimed.
With the time and energy, I have invested in becoming councilor, I'm letting my name stand for a second full term.
If I get elected, I will endeavor to do my best to represent the citizens of Rhineland.
I want to thank the other candidates for letting their names stand. Democracy only works if people engage in the exercise of elections. We have the freedom and the choice to make a difference.
After five years, I have gained a lot of appreciation for the value of municipal government. So please come out and vote on October 26th, and I ask you to cast your ballot for me, John Dueck for Ward 3.”
Next was incumbent, Archie Heinrichs, who is running in Ward 2.
"I moved here with my wife, Bernice, and our three kids in 1980. We moved to Plum Coulee, and we now have two grandkids to add to that.
I've been on Council for a number of years, I believe it's 33, and with the experience that I have, I hope to make the next Council for Rhineland and a place for us to live, raise a family, as well as be a prosperous place.
Water is very important, and the supply and storage of potable water, which is something that we do not want to run short on during peak season.
We need to address more wastewater issues as well, and not just the urban but also the rural, as this is something that our future definitely holds us to take care of ourselves.
We need to build a lot of drainage just to accommodate our spring runoffs and the heavy rain falls, at a pace that we have to minimize damage done to the residents’ homes and properties as well as to our neighboring municipalities as this is always a concern that we have. We also need to convince our government to take ownership of some of these creeks. Some of them owned by private citizens and some of them owned by the government, so there's not a consistency there.
I'd like to also say that we have a few projects going on right now.
We have priority grain roads. We are going to be doing 31 miles of drain tile, which is the first time ever for any municipality, but it is something that I feel very strong that we need to fulfill and for better roads.
Please come out and vote on the 26th of October, and it doesn't mean you have to vote for me, but everybody please come and vote.
Thank you.”
Incumbent, Jake Heppner, will be on the ballot for Ward 3.
“I'm married to Esther for 32 years. We run a farming operation. We have broiler breeder hens, our cattle operation and do some conventional farming.
I want to thank the citizens of Ward 3 for their support over the last 10 years.
I am a big believer in the financial health of our RM. And when I look, the R.M. of Rhineland has had a history of managing the financial health of it when you compare RMs, looking at mill rates, looking at how much money is being put into reserves, looking at how much debt they carry and what it takes to service that debt.
And I guess this next point is going to be touched on a lot today, but the water treatment plant at Letellier needs to be expanded, doubled.
Last year in July and August, there was talk that potentially the Red River could freeze solid and we would be facing a severe shortage, and then six months later we were dealing with a flood.
And so, with that, I will just encourage everybody to come out and vote on October 26th.
Thank you.”
Also given an opportunity to address the crowd was Brad Wiebe. He was acclaimed to a seat in Ward 1.
“I gotta start by saying I'm truly honored to be here, to be in this position, to be able to represent my ward. I wasn't expecting it to go as an acclamation, but it did and I am truly, truly grateful.
To just give a little background on myself:
I grew up on the farm. I am a farm boy. I grew up watching my dad and my mom. We had a hog operation and a grain operation.
From there, I got into policing, and I spent ten years in the police force.
Three years of that I gave my time as a volunteer officer and then I went to a small community called St Anne, and then as well First Nations police forces such as Treaty 3 police in Kenora and then Nishnawbe Aski Police service out of Thunder Bay where I was a fly-in officer in the northern community in Ontario.
After I left my police force job, I became a small business owner and that is what we do today. It's been a wild experience and a wild ride.
Me and my wife Ashley, who's here with me tonight, we run a wedding barn as well as a media production company shooting commercials for different companies. We've had the honor of working with our Chamber and different organizations around our community which has been really, really good, and I am just very much looking forward to representing my ward and bringing forward the concerns and the praises that need to be brought towards Council.
I'm excited to work with this Council and moving forward.”
Debra Enns is one of three candidates running in Ward 3.
“I'm here today to ask the residents of Ward 3 for their vote.
I have always lived in the municipality.
I was raised in the village of Gnadenthal. l then moved to the farm where I still live today. During those 40-plus years, agriculture was our main source of income.
We raised 2 incredible children.
I opened a small retail business, served as Chairs of the Retail Merchants Association, and became the Chair of the Parent Advisory Committee at W.C. Miller Collegiate. (I’ve) managed hockey teams and volunteered at my very first provincial campaign. That is where my love for politics began. I continued working in many different positions, being federally and provincially.
I became the Chair of the Boundary Trails Health Center Foundation and became a member of the Red River College Board of Governance.
I work full time with the office of MLA Josh Guenter.
Moving forward, this would be a natural progression.
My intention is not to make huge changes to the already well-rounded municipality, but to be a new voice, a new perspective, doing things that could be improved upon all the while being fiscally responsible.
I believe I am really the only candidate that actually lives on a gravel road. So yes, this is a priority, but there are many more.
Improvements to infrastructure for future growth. Communities grow, businesses invest when we have the right infrastructure in place.
Water is a necessity of life for residents, but also for business and manufacturing. Improving the ability to have supply meet demands must be addressed now.
Internet and cell service are not a luxury, but a necessity. It is 2022 and we're still talking about this. It's time to get it done.
Delivering services to ensure safe and vibrant communities, maintaining and improving community centers, ensuring the access for recreation in small communities and strong police presence.
These are some of my priorities.
If these are also yours, I need your vote.
If elected, I will work tirelessly to represent the residents of Ward 3, working together with Council to build upon what already makes this municipality so great.”
Incumbent June Letkeman is one of three candidates running for two positions in Ward 2.
“I'm June Letkeman and I've lived in Plum Coulee for 27 years. My husband and I moved to Plum Coulee to purchase the Happy Wanderer Motor Hotel, but of course I've since sold and I'm sort of semi-retired, so I have time to be a counselor I love the work and it seems like a really good fit for me.
I've always believed that it's important to get involved in the community in which you live, and I've gotten very involved in Plum Coulee and the municipality. I worked hard for the community of Plum Coulee and will continue to work hard for our municipality, helping to make it the best place to live.
I have served one term is councilor for the municipality, and in that four-year term we had a lot of issues, serious issues like pandemic, flooding and drought. Those are three very important issues and I think that I, along with my colleagues on Council, dealt with them very well.
There were a lot of other important issues as well.
Of course, and one of them is there's a lot of talk now - we really, really need more water. There's lots of water in Manitoba. All we have to do is access it, but that's not an easy thing to do.
I've also served as deputy mayor of Plum Coulee for two terms. So, I feel I'm really qualified to be on council.
As I said, one of the most important issues is our water issue and we need a new water plant for Letellier. We need to lobby the government to put more money into our water supply and getting it out there.
Also, a drainage. There's lots of concerns about drainage as well, and I'm just learning about drainage. I was raised on the farm, but I don't remember anything about drainage, so I've had to learn about drain tiles and all that kind of stuff.
And I've also worked tirelessly to get better cell service in our area, and I'm not going to give up. We don't live in a third world country, and we need and deserve better cell service. I'm a hard worker and I like to get things done.
So, on October 26 for Ward two, vote for me, June Letkeman.”
Finally, Hank Froese capped off the opening comments portion of the evening. He is also running in Ward 2.
“My name is Hank Froese, and this is my first foray into municipal politics, so I'm looking forward to the to the experience.
I live in the western edge of the RM. I've lived there for 22 years. Along with my wife, Anita, we've raised two children there. Both of them are now on their own, with their own families, a few grandchildren. Enjoying that.
I still live within 5 miles of where I was born and went to school and worked. So, it's been a good RM. It's been a good place to live, and I just look forward to contributing to the community.
For the past 31 years I've been with a company, an organization and multinational organization, in the AG sector. So, working with farmers and contractors and local businesses in that respect. I have a professional degree in human resource management, which I did for a number of years for the company. Also, IT. I worked the IT sector for a while I went to Red River to get my accreditation for that. And so, I have a lot of experience in dealing with systems, dealing with people.
Some of the things I'd like to pursue, as many people have said, is water.
I was personally involved in a company. We were looking at expanding in this area. It was a wet industry, and southern Manitoba isn't capable of that because of the water issues, the shortage of water. And so that's something definitely.
Cell service is another one. Very poor cell service in this area. I think we should be able to expand on that.
Just working with Council as a body, make good decisions, participate and represent the public.
Thank you for your support and looking for your vote.”
Incumbent, Brad Braun, who was acclaimed to his council seat in Ward 1, was unable to attend Thursday's forum.