Pam Fedack

News last month of Winkler's unsuccessful grant application through CMHC's Housing Accelerator Fund was not only a huge disappointment for City Council, it was also hard news for Central Community Homes.
 
Central Community Homes is the organization that provides affordable housing for the most vulnerable people in our community and works in tandem with Winkler's Central Station. Central Community Homes provides the housing, while Central Station looks after the property management and tenant support piece.
 

The principal of the Winkler Elementary School will be moving into a new administrative position with the Garden Valley School Division (GVSD) this summer.

Cindy Hamilton was recently appointed to the role of Assistant Superintendent of Student Services by the GVSD Board of Trustees. She will be taking over from Joanne Derksen who is retiring in June.

Hamilton has 25 years of experience in GVSD, including 9 years in a school leadership position and 8 years in student services.

The Winkler Heritage Society is facing some significant challenges.
     
John Epp, acting chair of the volunteer committee presented to City Council on Tuesday night.

He was not alone. The gallery of the council chambers was full of supporters and volunteer members of the Heritage Society.

Not only is the Society dealing with a financial crunch, but Epp shared they are also losing all three of their spaces this year, which includes the museum and storage space at the Southland Mall. In addition, they have also lost their archive space at the Winkler Library.

A key piece from last week's education funding announcement was made without much emphasis but quickly caught the attention of school boards.

The Manitoba Government will be investing an additional $104.2 million in funding for public schools in the upcoming school year. That works out to an increase of 3.4 percent for 2024/25.

For the Garden Valley School Division (GVSD), Superintendent Dan Ward says it will mean a modest increase of two percent to their operating support, which works out to $725.000.

"Garden Valley School Division will be receiving a 2 percent increase to operating support, which is $725,000," said Ward.

The C.W. Wiebe Medical Clinic has partnered with the Winkler and District Chamber of Commerce to conduct a primary care provider-focused survey.

Jim Neufeld is the current clinic executive director. 

With the resources they have today, Neufeld says they’re not able to meet all the demands of the community, particularly regarding primary care.  

To get a scope of the size of the deficit they’re dealing with is difficult to determine. He said having the Chamber interview their member employees would be a good tool and a great place to start.

As budget planning season gets into full swing with municipal councils across the province, high inflation and the cost of borrowing money will weigh heavily on many of them. That includes the R.M. of Morris as its council crunches the numbers and examines the needs of the municipality.

The Chief of the Winkler Police Service says new tactics being used by scammers lately, specifically with one particular trick, is "quite concerning."

Ryan Hunt says Winkler Police continue to investigate two recent incidents of the 'Grandparent Scam' where the victims turned over a substantial amount of money.

PembinaValleyOnline.com reported the first incident Sunday night.

Around 500 permits were processed in 2023 throughout the MSTW Planning District. The district includes the cities of Winkler and Morden, as well as the RMs of Thompson and Stanley.
    
MSTW General Manager Glen Wieler says around 500 overall permits is pretty typical of what they've seen over the past few years. He notes however, the start-up of single-family houses continued to go down during the past two years, with more multi-unit dwellings now under construction.
    

The City of Winkler has set its water rate for the upcoming year, newly amending its pass-through rate by-law. 

Winkler's Director of Corporate Services, David Martens, says it's something city council does each January. The By-law ensures any changes from the Pembina Valley Water Co-op (PVWC) are combined with Winkler's established rate.

The City of Winkler receives roughly 35 percent of its water each year from PVWC.