Pam Fedack

We are now entering the heart of severe storm season.

Darin Driedger is the Emergency Coordinator for Southern Emergency Response Committee. (SERC)

A variety of factors over the past two years has led the CW Wiebe Medical Centre in Winkler to temporarily reduce urgent care hours.
    
Clinic Administrator, Jim Neufeld says an increase in workload at the Boundary Trails Health Centre for some physicians, is one component.

"All of the physicians that work here, or at least most of them also take care of things at the hospital, so there's been some ramped up services there and that's taking more of our physician time away. And, we also have three physicians that will be leaving us this summer as well."

Although a water shortage is not anticipated this spring, the Pembina Valley Water Co-op (PVWC) is making a special request of pool owners in the City of Winkler.

The PVWC is asking residents with pools to fill them up by Saturday, June 4th. Although not a requirement, it would be prudent to do so when flows are relatively low at the Co-op & Winkler Water Treatment plants.

Winkler's proposed wastewater treatment plant that went to tender in late winter is going back to the design phase, and the tender process has been scratched.

Mayor Martin Harder says when the tenders closed, the numbers came back substantially higher than the $48-million approved and secured for the project. Initially, Harder said Council was struggling with the question of how to cover the balance.

Wednesday morning brought another edition of In the Mayor's Chair with Winkler Mayor Martin Harder joining Reporter Pam Fedack. With the forecast looking much nicer this week, actually resembling something much closer to a summer forecast, our conversation focused on the fun activities and adventures that can be enjoyed this summer throughout the city. If you missed hearing the conversation on CFAM radio 950, have a listen below:

The Village of Schanzenfeld will soon see its pathway system linked to the City of Winkler's.
    
Recently, the R.M. of Stanley received a $104,000 grant through the province's Building Sustainable Communities Program. The R.M. will match the grant total to help cover the estimated total cost of the project, pegged at just over $200,000.
    
The project will include constructing an 8-foot wide limestone path along Road 10N at the north end of Schanzenfeld, west to Road 22W, and then north along Road 22 West up to the Winkler dike, a total of 2.5 kilometres.

As part of Mark Wilson's Mennonite Studies class at Garden Valley Collegiate in Winkler, a community service project is typically part of the course. Among others, past projects have taken students to Salem Home, or to the MCC Thrift Store to work.

This term's project looked to get to the heart of community healing and to learn the difference between discussion versus debate.

The City of Winkler has submitted a proposal to the Public Utilities Board (PUB) for an increase to its water and sewer rates.

Aside from water rate increases, residents have seen on their bills related to hikes passed on by the Pembina Valley Water Co-op, Winkler has not reviewed its utility rates in ten years.

A ribbon was cut to celebrate the new 15,000 square foot building on Roblin Boulevard for Winkler's Gospel Echoes Thrift Store.

The store, supporting prison ministry in Canada, started out in Winkler a decade ago out of a 5,000 square building on Cargill Road. After outgrowing that space after a few short years, they moved to a bigger building next door on Cargill Road before this new exciting venture.

After eight years as reeve of the R.M. of Stanley, Morris Olafson has decided not to run in the October 26th election.
    
Olafson said after two terms, he feels the municipality is in a very positive place and the time is right to retire from municipal politics and let someone else take the reins.