Pam Fedack

The much anticipated front yard project at Winkler's Garden Valley Collegiate is underway.
    
GVC Principal Carrie Friesen said initially construction was to begin a month ago, but due to a small hiccup, it only commenced at the start of this month.

"But we are going now, and pretty excited to have the project started considering the delay," said Friesen. "We may find not all the project will likely get done in time, but we are excited that it's initially getting going and that the vision that we had for the project will be exactly as we still intended it to be." 

The City of Winkler will receive over $1 - million from nearly $40 - million the Province of Manitoba recently divided among all municipalities outside of Winnipeg.
    
The $39.9 - million distributed on a per capita basis, is the remaining money from the overall $70.6 million Strategic Infrastructure Basket available to municipalities outside of our capital city.

Summer is always a busy time for maintenance staff at Garden Valley School Division (GVSD).
    
GVSD Superintendent Dan Ward says it's time to get the schools ready for fall through regular maintenance projects and additional cleaning. It's also a time to work on some projects, which are often related to the board's Five Year Capital Plan.

One of the significant projects published in the division's five-year capital plan earlier this year was new foundational piles under the automotive technology shop at GVC.

After seeing a need in the Pembina Valley, local hockey coach Morgan Mullin took the lead and started an all-female hockey school. That was five years ago, and Born to Play has grown quickly.

"It'll be my fifth year this year and we had to actually expand," said Mullin.

Being able to acquire a bit more ice time from the recreation centre after registration filled up within 30 minutes, Mullin says they were able to expand to add a fourth group.

The recipient of the 2022 Citizen of Distinction Award was celebrated Thursday night in Morden.
    
Kathy Ritchie was honoured by the Morden Area Foundation (MAF) at an award reception held in her honour.

Ritchie called the recognition by her community peers, humbling. She said she's happy to accept the award for doing what so many others do, not wanting recognition for it, but wanting to make the community a better place to live in.
    
Ritchie says there are two notable things she's most proud of during her decades of volunteering.

Members of Altona Rhineland Emergency Services had a great time getting out into the community during the Altona Sunflower Festival last weekend.
    
Firefighters were involved in 3 primary events throughout Friday and Saturday. One of those events was the annual boot drive during the Sunflower Parade.
    
Altona Rhineland Emergency Services Chaplain, Richard Bage says funds from the campaign are divided between the Fire Fighters Burn Fund and the Altona Rhineland Food Bank.

A dig site two miles southwest of Miami has produced an exciting find by field workers and researchers with the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre.
    
CFDC Executive Director, Adolfo Cuetara says CFDC staff recently discovered a full mosasaur skeleton on the property.

The start of development on a new childcare facility in Morden is imminent.
    
That's according to Mayor Brandon Burley.
    
Late last winter, Morden was one of a number of municipalities to get funding through the provincial government's initiative for advanced childcare spaces. Burley says the city was able to work with the Province and the Pembina Valley Childcare Centre to come up with a plan of action and secure the additional spaces.

With mosquito season in full swing, there's been some buzz about trap counts. 

As part of its adult mosquito surveillance conducted each week by the Province of Manitoba, fewer overall culex tarsalis mosquitoes were detected in provincial traps compared to the week earlier. Culex tarsalis is a species of mosquito that carries the West Nile virus (WNW).
    
During the week of July 9th to 15th, three WNV-positive mosquito pools were identified in the southern health region, two of which were in Morden.

The City of Winkler will soon be home to one of the country's premier pork processing facilities.
    
A joint venture between Progressive Group, which owns Winkler Meats, and United States-based Johnsonville Sausage was announced Monday in Winkler. 

Both companies will be investing 50 percent of the expansion cost.