Pam Fedack

Business has been booming at the Morden Community Thrift Store over the past few months. And thanks to that success, the store was able to give away an impressive $268-thousand on Monday for its 2024 spring giving.
    
President of the Morden and Community Thrift Store, Kent Noel, says sales are continually rebounding after the COVID slowdown.

"We've had tremendous sales in the last few months and it's all because of our community being able to donate to us and our volunteers doing the hard work, getting it ready, cleaning it up, and getting it out on the floor."

After nine months of training, the two newest constables to join the Winkler Police Service (WPS) graduated from the Winnipeg police academy earlier this month.
    
The process to hire two new constables began early in 2023. Winkler Police Chief Ryan Hunt said they received several applicants at the time, and following a long process, including various tests, they selected "the best two" individuals from the group.

Jadyn Martens and Arlen Thiessen, graduated from the Winnipeg Police Academy with a Winnipeg Police Service recruit class on May 17th.

This year's Gordon Wiebe 'Make it a Reality' scholarship winner is an inspirational young woman.

On Tuesday, the Winkler Community Foundation presented, Alyssa Neufeld, a grade 12 student at Winkler's Northlands Parkway Collegiate with the $25,000 award.

Neufeld has lived on her own since the age of 17 - which followed the experience of going through a failed adoption.
    
At the age of 17, she chose to live on her own, rather than move to Winnipeg. The only room Child Family Services could offer Neufeld at the time was at a Winnipeg homeless shelter.

Sudden changes to the provincial Green Team Funding program caught many organizations off guard earlier this month. For years, the funding has been available for summer camps, fishing outposts, and golf courses to tap into to help cover wages for camp staff positions.

In the mid-1980s, CancerCare Manitoba established approximately one dozen outreach chemotherapy centres, scattering them throughout the province. Over four decades those centres have evolved into regional Cancer Care hubs. 

One of those outreach chemotherapy centres was established in Morden at the old Morden Hospital.

"In Morden, we had a small room, and a small exam room associated with that," explained Dr Cornelius Woelk, Medical Director of the Cancer Care Unit at Boundary Trails Health Centre (BTHC).

The competitive hip-hop dance troupe from Morden's Dance Works Studio recently took part in the Canadian National Dance Competition in Winnipeg for the regional championship.
    
Tristan Klassen is the hip-hop instructor, and also performed competitively himself.

South Central Cancer Resource will receive a sizable cheque from last week's SMILE Cookie campaign in Carman.

This is the third in a row that the owners of Carman Tim Horton's, Jeff and Linda Doerksen paired up with South Central Cancer Resource (SCCR). 

South Central Cancer Resource is fully funded by fundraising and donations.  

It was a first-time partnership for this year's Tim Horton's Smile Cookie Campaign in Winkler and Morden.
    
For the first time, one hundred percent of the proceeds from the week-long campaign at both locations were given to the Boundary Trails Health Centre Foundation (B.T.H.C.F.).
    
Over forty volunteers pitched in during the week, decorating and delivering 25,000 cookies.

Foundation Executive Director, Shannon Samette-Folkette says they're so grateful to be getting over $40,000.

Food for all is at Winkler Co-op today supporting the Winkler Food Cupboard.
    
With donations often down in the summer months, Milt Olfert - board chair of the Winkler Food Cupboard, says today's event is extremely helpful heading into the next few months.

For those needing the food cupboard, Olfert said they strive to make the experience as close to a real shopping excursion for clients as possible.

The outdoor emergency sirens in Winkler and Morden will sound today at noon.