Niverville’s Community Funded Care Home Sets Standard
Bill 18 Goes to Committee By Marianne Curtis Three hundred and seventeen people have signed up to speak during a series of Standing Committee meetings that have been set up to consider Bill 18 – The Public Schools Amendment Act (Safe and Inclusive Schools). In order to finally set an end date for the longest sitting of the Manitoba Legislature, the decision to hold public hearings was part of a deal struck by the government. Steinbach MLA Kelvin Goertzen is pleased that the concerns citizens have voiced will finally be heard. “Bill 18, the controversial NDP anti-bullying Bill was voted on in second reading in the Legislature. I voted against the Bill at second reading because I don’t believe it will protect kids and in fact could have the opposite effect according to experts,” stated Goertzen. “The Bill will be going to committee starting next week and we will hear from hundreds of Manitobans. For 9 months, we have tried to get the NDP to consider changes to make this a Bill that will protect all kids and that could be supported by all Manitobans. Now it’s time for Manitobans to have their turn.” The bill amends The Public Schools Act in the areas of bullying and respect for human diversity. While the premise of the Bill is to promote inclusion, one portion is upsetting many people within community of Steinbach. “The policy must accommodate student activity that promotes the school environment as being inclusive of
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Niverville resident Wally Pauls spends a few minutes telling Health Minister Theresa Oswald how excited he is about bringing his brother to the Heritage Life Personal Care Home while he makes his home next door in the Manor. Photo by Marianne Curtis
By Marianne Curtis On August 20, several hundred people braved soaring temperatures to help celebrate the official grand opening of the new Heritage Life Personal Care Home in Niverville. The community led, $13.7 million project has become an international success story because it was constructed without a dime from government allocated tax dollars. The personal care home is attached to the Heritage Centre in Niverville has 60 general care beds on the main floor and 20 Special Care Unit (SCU) beds on the second floor. The SCU beds help medical staff to assess patients in crises and determine the best possible care for them.
Sprague Eco-Reserve Established
Executive Director Steve Neufeld calls this project a “life changing experience”. “They said that this would not happen in our lifetime,” stated Neufeld. For the past year and a half, Neufeld has been preparing the staff and residents of St. Adolphe Nursing home for the move to Niverville. The purchase of the privately owned nursing home became the cornerstone for the new state of the art facility. Gord Daman, Board Chair for Niverville Heritage Holdings says it has been his profound privilege to be involved with this project.
The province has created a new ecological reserve in Sprague and expanded an existing site near Steinbach. By establishing the reserves, the province can protect these valuable habitats by prohibiting commercial logging, mining, hydroelectric development, oil and gas development or any other activity that could affect these sites. A new 76-hectare area called the Holmgren Pines Ecological Reserve has been designated about 30 kilometres northeast of Sprague. The site is the only known location in Manitoba where all three native pine
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