Ayesha Badiola

Gilbert Forest is adding his name to the ballot for the upcoming election in the RM of De Salaberry, more specifically, the St. Malo Ward.  

He grew up on a beef, dairy and mixed grain farm in De Salaberry and is a father of three. His work experience revolves around public works which include water and sewer operations, mechanics, and backhoe operations, among other roles. He was also a volunteer at the Saint-Malo Fire Department for over five years. 

If elected, his main priorities are infrastructure, services for seniors and recreation.  

Kleefeld resident Jeff Friesen believes in the importance of quality education. With this, he decided to run as a trustee for Ward 1 of the Hanover School Division and won by acclamation.  

As a father of five, two sons-in-law, one granddaughter and another grandchild on the way, he says “choosing to run for trustee of HSD wasn’t a difficult choice.” 

Steinbach resident Mark Peters is putting his name on the ballot for Hanover School Division’s Ward 3 in the upcoming municipal election.  

Peters works in mechanical engineering technology, “integrating systems from various vendors for an international corporation.” He also has experience working on a board and overseeing the finances of a church. 

It’s that time of the year, Tim Horton’s hand-decorated Smile Cookies are back this week. From today, September 19th to the 25th, Smile Cookies will be on sale. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to Youth for Christ Steinbach.  

YFC Steinbach’s Executive Director Rueben Singh is excited to see the impact that this week will create.  

“We are very fortunate and blessed to be the recipient of the Smile Cookie week this year,” Singh said. “It's going to allow us just to make those connections, walk alongside youth that need that extra push or support in their life.” 

Glen Pederson, Mike Baziuk and the new ownership of Steinbach Bowling Alley want to bring bowling to Steinbach youth aged 11 to 19. 

“What we're trying to do is get more youth involved in bowling and teaching them how to bowl the proper way, the proper etiquette and give them experience bowling,” Pederson said. 

Year-round, Steinbach Family Resource Centre provides essentials such as school supplies and various programs for those in our community.  

This Friday, September 16th, they will have Market Day from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Families can pick up items such as toys, clothing and other baby essentials.  

To soak up the last little bit of summer, we visited L.A. Barkman Park for the latest episode of Feel Good Fridays.  

We surprised two mothers, Jillian and Chelsea (and their little ones) with gift cards to Clearview Co-op, courtesy of the Steinbach Auto Dealers! 

Check out past episodes of Feel Good Fridays here! 

Ten years ago, Hanover School Division added a new middle school to the roster. Clearspring Middle School became the second middle school in Steinbach, and Ron Falk, a trustee from the division finds it “hard to believe.” 

“It's crazy how time flies,” said Falk. “The number of students who've gone by it through in these ten years, it's probably in the area of 5000 students. It's remarkable.” 

Mitchell’s Nicole Hildebrand has had a summer to remember. The recent SRSS graduate captured gold at the 2022 Canada Summer Games and committed to the University of Ottawa to play volleyball. 

As a player out of high school, with others having university-level experience, she didn’t expect to make the cut for Team Manitoba. However, when she did, she took it as an opportunity to learn from her teammates. 

Beyond winning gold and learning lessons, Hildebrand, 18, cherishes the memories she made.  

On the fifth and final day of Meals on the Farm, we headed southwest to St. Pierre. We joined Ron Vermette and his family and brought lunch from Mennonite Heritage Village along with other prizes from our sponsors.