March 1, 2024

Congratulations to our U11 Female Huskies for winning silver in rural C Provincials on

February 25 in

Congratulations to our U15 Female Huskies for bringing home bronze from rural A Provincials on Sunday, February 25 in Morden. Left to right back row: Keith Vandal (Assistant Coach), Hannah Robson, Karli Knight, Signe Erven, Emma Martin, Claire Ramsey, Kinley Peters, Mylie Vandal, Trevor Peters (Head Coach), Allan Knight (Assistant Coach). Front row: Kaylee Klassen, Luxtyn Blandford, Chloe Duncan, Rylee Maynes, Chloe McKinnon.

A curler knows how to throw caution to the curling winds

Oak River Open Mixed Bonspiel

By Jessica Coulter Rivers Banner

It was a fun weekend at the Oak River Open Mixed Bonspiel according to the

many participants. On Friday, February 23 to Sunday, February 25 Oak River Curling Club hosted their first curling bonspiel of the season. There were fourteen

rinks competing. Everyone at the event is also looking forward to our final bonspiel of the season on March 22-24 in Oak River.

Trivia night in Rivers Rivers’ Curling Day in Canada

By Jessica Coulter Rivers Banner

Since it was Curling Day in Canada, Rivers Curling Club had a skills competition on Saturday, February 24 from 2-5pm.

Each sheet had a different skill to try. Sheet one was a draw through a port, sheet two was a draw to the button, sheet three was a raise to the button and sheet four was farthest from the button but still on the rings. All four categories were won by Donna Morken.

After the skills competition, there was a Trivia Night. There were about 25 people who took on the trivia challenge. It was $10

per person to compete, and teams were a max of 8 people. The winners were Jocelyn Beever, Dale Beever, Charley Beever, Scott Beever, Al Morken, Donna Morken and Sheila Runions.

“A great time was had by all,” says Kendra Walker, Rivers Curling Club member.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out our

section is one of the best places to look for

PHOTOS BY TAMMY RECKSIEDLER

PHOTOS BY KENDRA WALKER

First place rink winners Justin Gerrard, Hallie McCannell, Connor English, and Kyla English.

After the skills competition the trivia competition began.

Second place rink winners Jim Kuculym, Janice Heapy, Thomas Heapy, Diane Kuculym.

Third place rink winners Shaun Hunter, Brodie Hunter, David McConnell, Brady Daniel (missing from photo).

Are you thriving or just surviving?

Promoting health and wellness of body and mind

By Dianne Kolwalchuk Rivers Women’s Institute

1 in 5 Canadians will experience mental issues each year. That could easily be you or me. Surprisingly, according to the Community Health Survey (2019), the area covered by Prairie Mountain Health has the highest prevalence of mood or anxiety disorders in the province. Members of Rivers Women’s Institute (WI) wish to promote the health and wellness of body and mind. To that end, Tara Smith was invited to speak at the February meeting of the organization. Tara is a respected member of the Health Promotion team working in Prairie Mountain RHA. She was asked to talk about Thriving Mental Health. It is possible to thrive and to flourish, but all people – with mental illness or not – need to be able to manage everyday stressors. Tara led the group through a few exercises to encourage them to recognize stressors and deal with them. These concepts are part of an RHA program called Strive to Thrive, a five-class program that explores mental wellness threats and provides tools to deal with everyday stress. It is possible to flourish, even

Rapid City Community ChuRCh

Sundays 10 a.m.

Children’s Church during the message Bible Study – Thursdays 7:30 p.m.

JESUS IS LORD

in the midst of stress; it is possible to thrive and not just survive. Tara ended her presentation by leading the ladies through some physical exercises that can easily be done daily. Thanks, Tara, for a program that was informative and helpful.

The next meeting of Rivers WI will be held on Friday, March 8th, in the common room at Kiwanis Courts. A member of our Police Department will attend to tell us about the latest scams and how to protect ourselves. If this topic interests you, please join us for the meeting. For more information, contact President Michelle McFadden at 328-7441 or Secretary Dianne Kowalchuk at 328-7690.

WI has been active in the Rivers community since 1949 (and before that, from 1917 – 1942). Our mandate is threefold. First of all, the WI provides a supportive and caring social network. We know that online connections are not enough for social well being. Secondly, the group does what it can to help in the community. Our role is not as large as it was years ago, but we still try to do our part, such as delivering Meals on Wheels. The third purpose is to provide educational programs. We are proud of our history and our continuing work For Home and Country.

Join us Sundays at 10:30 a.m.

FAITHFULLY YOURS

Neil StrohScheiN

Your giftS; Your choice; Part iV

In this, the final article on the topic of charitable donations, I want to address some words to those who receive the money we donate each year.

I do not intend to criticize the goals of any charitable organization or question its administrative or financial policies. I fully respect an organization’s right to decide how it will raise its funds and the projects to which those funds will be allocated. I also realize that larger charities will require paid staff to process donations, distribute funds, keep financial records and issue receipts. And I believe that these people should be paid a fair wage for the work that they do; especially if they are fulltime employees.

But as a donor, there are some things I would like to know before donating to a church, to a local charity or to a national organization. There is nothing underhanded or sneaky about these questions. They should be very easy for every charitable organization to answer.

447 Edward Street ~ 204-328-7882

From last weeks front page

Question 1 - How will the funds be used? I am amazed at the wide variety of projects the churches and charitable organizations in The Banner and Press’ coverage area are helping to fund. Churches, as expected, provide religious services and programs for children, youth and adults. But that’s not all they do. Some operate food or clothing banks. Some sponsor refugees. Some operate private schools. Others host concerts, recitals and various other musical programs put on by schools or community agencies. I am always thrilled to hear of the many different ways by which churches serve their communities.

If we choose not to donate to a church, we have many other options. They are as varied as the organizations that sponsor them. If you are seeking donations, please be as specific as you can be when telling us how the funds we give you will be used.

Question 2 - Is your organization registered as a “charity” with the Canada Revenue Agency? If your answer is “No;” I, as a prospective donor, have the right to ask: “Why not?” and receive an honest answer. I may not agree with your rationale, but I will keep those opinions to myself. I know there are some who, for one reason or another, may choose not to register as a “charity” with CRA and I respect your right to do that if you so desire.

Question 3 - Does your organization provide regular updates (preferably by email) to let the public know how donor funds are being used and what positive results are being achieved?

Local charities don’t need to worry as much about this; as the impact of their services to the community can be easily seen. National and international charities often provide a link to their charity’s website, where donors can view copies of their most recent annual report, financial statement and other information. That should be adequate for most of us.

These are basic questions, seeking information that should be readily available. By sharing these questions, I hope to enable all who donate to any charity to do so with confidence, knowing that they are entrusting their hard-earned income to organizations lead by people of integrity who will use the donated funds effectively and efficiently to support programs and projects that will benefit people around our world.

These suggestions have come from a lifetime of donating to charitable organizations, and for the past few years, as an officer of a local charity. I hope you have found them helpful.

Tundra

By Chad Carpenter

City of Winnipeg faces big choices

As I put words to paper this Sunday afternoon, I have been informed that the Winnipeg Jets are down in season ticket sales. One of the owners, Mark Chipman, says they have to get the sales back up again. I also hear the NHL commissioner, Gary Bettman, is coming to town reportedly to encourage or scold the team for their lagging sales.

My first thought is that Gary Bettman should retire, as many people, myself included, find him to be a very annoying and often unrealistic man. Others will say that he has been instrumental in building the NHL to the brand it is today and that could be true too. Like most league commissioners, Bettman has way too many opinions, way too much power and he comes across as arrogant.

It occurs to me that the Winnipeg Jets fans are very loyal. That said, the Jets tickets are very pricey according to just about everyone who buys tickets. It’s also reported that Jets tickets are cheaper than most other teams’ prices, but it is Manitoba after all. Winnipeg in particular, and Manitoba in general, can be very generous with charitable donations but also very tight with their money. All that said, Jets tickets seem very expensive and going to a game can take a big chunk out of your credit card. Hotdogs are $11 and other snacks and drinks are pricey too. Parking isn’t cheap.

There is a nasty aspect to going to Jets games, as one is likely to be met by vagrants who are high on drugs or liquor, or by panhandlers. Often vehicles are vandalized in smash and grab incidents. Some players don’t want to play in Winnipeg because it’s cold compared to some US cities and the players wives and girlfriends don’t feel safe making their way past the addicts and panhandlers to access the Canada Life Centre.

Right in the Centre

Ken Waddell

I have it on firsthand authority from a Neepawa area fan who turned down a free luxury suite ticket because they didn’t want to put up with many of the negative aspects that I have listed above.

Overall, the Jets have a very good team, a great arena, albeit financed heavily with tax dollars initially.

The community involvement of the Jets players and True North Entertainment is very good. Cleaning up the area around the arena isn’t the direct responsibility of the players or True North. That task rests with the City of Winnipeg and the province.

To effectively “clean up” downtown Winnipeg will require a major shift of emphasis. It’s a great thing that Mayor Gillingham has facilitated the use of security staff on buses. That a bus driver or passengers have been subjected to violence is absolutely wrong. Hopefully, the new security staff will be able to make riding a bus safe. I used to use the buses way back in the late 60s and I don’t believe there was violence or obnoxious behaviour back then. Maybe I was oblivious to it, but I don’t remember ever experiencing dangerous behaviour.

My contention is if a person is drunk or drugged, they don’t belong out in the public. Drunk and disorderly used to be an offence that got you into jail for a spell. It still should be. Surely no good is being done for the individual and certainly endangering the public

The City of Winnipeg reports they have about 1,200 homeless people. I think that is probably a low estimate, but I don’t know. Winnipeg has a lot of great things and more than half a million good people. What the city, the voters and the province of Manitoba needs to realize is that change is needed. The centre of Winnipeg is hollowed out and most developers and business people know that.

Housing is desperately needed and that may mean converting the upper vacant floors of commercial buildings to housing. Housing may cost many millions of dollars. Redevelopment of the Hudson Bay building and Portage Place hopefully will go forward.

If downtown Winnipeg doesn’t improve, it won’t matter how cheap the Jets tickets and hotdogs are. People will not come.

I am the first to admit that my ideas may not be valid, but the evidence is pretty strong that some parts of the city’s downtown equation is not working. After health care, the province needs to take strong leadership in cleaning up the dark parts of Winnipeg. Clean up and upgrade the derelict buildings, the vagrants, the housing situation, the addicts and yes, even the street surfaces.

The choices are there to be made, but is the courage and conviction high enough to make the right choices? It will need a lot of courage and a huge budget from private and public sources.

Homebodies

Rita Friesen

Lenten thoughts...

For the first time in a long time, I have given up things for Lent; usually I take on something rather than put something down. I have, in the past, taken up writing notes of appreciation to folks who have blessed my life, knowingly or unknowingly, recently or ages ago. I have taken up the practice of doing an anonymous good deed for the weeks preceding Easter. This year I cancelled all my television channels (ok I have a sports network on one device!), and I have a smart television so I am not entirely without entertainment, but it has made a significant difference in my free time. As has the cancellation of the candy crushing game- with no exceptions here! With the studying I do I came across a statement that spoke clearly to me, expounding on the Gospel of Mar, chapter 8: 31-38 F. Craddock states ‘Clearly, Mark does not want his church to use Easter to escape Lent and Good Friday.’ I have been guilty of that. Knowing how the story ends with victory I have respected Lent, perhaps not honoured it. And so changes began.

I downloaded the book Seven Story Mountain, an autobiography by Thomas Merton. If I had a paper copy if would be filled with underlining and tagged corners. There is seldom a page that does not cause me to pause. Slow reading! This one: “When a ray of light strikes a crystal, it gives a new quality to the crystal. And when God’s infinitely disinterested love plays upon a human soul, the same kind of thing takes place. And that is the life called sanctifying grace.” And I think of the collection of crystal that I have, simply because it speaks to me. Taking up space in a display case, requiring washing and polishing annually. And I still find some pieces that I wish to add to the collection..a slight crack in a unit causes an interesting refraction. I am that cracked piece, refracting like crazy!

I am using my time for faithfully. And God knows I have time! Walking the dog and tidying when required doesn’t take up much of my day. I will admit that the set of grow lights and the emerging plants fascinate me. Here I see Easter as well; a dark, dormant season before renewed life. I’m trying new types of vegetation, and some old favourites. It could become additive… Two grow lights with no shelf space… hmmm… perhaps the kitchen counter seeing that I don’t do a whole lot of food prep?

On a totally unrelated topic, for those who are curious, I got my tattoo from MossTown here in Neepawa. It is on the inside of my left arm, a series of three butterflies of graduating sizes and in graduating shades of blue. Beside the lowest dark blue one is the number 27, in memory of Ed my husband and partner of forty years, the centre one is a lighter blue with a 29 beside it, in memory of Gordon my partner of six years, and the highest is smaller and a soft pastel blue with 79 beside it, in memory of a wee one I carried for eight weeks way back then.

First budget will reveal plans of NDP government

Submitted

By Greg Nesbitt

The Manitoba Legislature will resume sitting on Wednesday, March 6.

The NDP government is expected to introduce many pieces of legislation in the spring session, but the most anticipated event on the three-month calendar will be the new government’s first budget.

Since the new government was elected on Oct. 3 Premier Wab Kinew and his colleagues have taken every opportunity to criticize our former PC government for its fiscal management.

The most recent attack on our management of your money came last week in the form of an unaudited, politically-motivated report that the NDP commissioned the accounting firm MNP to prepare.

As the review’s disclaimer makes clear, this is a political document with unaudited figures and incomplete information. The NDP also neglected to mention that they have been in charge for half of the 2023-24 fiscal year.

I am proud to stand behind our seven-year record of cutting taxes and making life more affordable for all Manitobans, while at the same time balancing the budget, and in fact, most recently recording an audited surplus of $270 million at the end of March 2023.

As well, our government invested in both operating funding for education and health care, and also in capitals projects for new hospitals, personal care homes and schools.

The NDP apparently believes these investments are not necessary as they have already cut nine new schools, 660 childcare spaces, six shovel-ready personal care homes, and surgical programs for Manitoba patients.

The NDP budget, which is expected to be delivered in late March or early April, will be a clear indication of what programs and projects the new government will cut and what tax increases Manitobans might expect.

• As the Official Opposition we have also been calling for answers from the NDP as to what is happening with the Building Sustainable Communities (BSC) program for local governments and non-profit organizations this year.

The BSC program was launched in 2019 to offer grants for capital infrastructure and community initiatives led by local governments and non-profit organizations. Typically, application intake would have opened in December; however, the NDP have been silent as to the future of this program.

Municipalities and non-profits need to know: have these grants been cut from the 2024 budget? Are they being delayed? The unknown is severely hampering these organizations’ ability to plan ahead.

I know that many, many community projects throughout the Riding Mountain constituency would not have happened without the support of a Building Sustainable Communities grant.

Let’s hope the NDP value our communities and the infrastructure we require as much as we all do.

• With the resignation of Tuxedo MLA Heather Stefanson as the Leader of the Progressive Conservative party, our Caucus has elected Lac du Bonnet MLA Wayne Ewasko as the Interim Leader.

Ewasko has been an MLA since 2011 and has the respect and support of our Caucus. I look forward to having Wayne visit communities in the Riding Mountain constituency and meet as many people as possible.

The PC Party is currently planning a leadership race to choose a permanent leader. No details have yet been announced but all members in good standing will have the chance to cast their vote.

One of the first things that our new Interim Leader did was appoint a new leadership team.

Steinbach MLA Kelvin Goertzen was named Deputy Leader (rural), while Roblin MLA Kathleen Cook will serve as Deputy Leader for the city of Winnipeg.

Derek Johnson, MLA for Interlake-Gimli, will return as the Opposition House Leader, while Turtle Mountain MLA Doyle Piwniuk was named as the Whip.

I was honoured to be asked to serve as the Chair of the PC Caucus. I had previously served as Caucus Chair under the leadership of Brian Pallister, Kelvin Goertzen and Heather Stefanson.

My position involves chairing meetings of our caucus, as well as liaising with my colleagues and our PC staff, Legislative staff and serving as the Caucus representative to the PC Party of Manitoba.

• Greg Nesbitt is the Member of Legislative Assembly for the Riding Mountain constituency. He can be reached at 204-759-3313, toll-free 1-844-877-7767 or by email at gregnesbittmla@mymts.net.

More doctors, more nurses, shorter wait times in MB

Submitted

Manitoba Government

Together, the governments of Canada and Manitoba are working to bring the health-care workers we need to the front lines so we can cut wait times and deliver the best possible care to Manitobans.

Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, alongside Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, announced more than $633 million in funding to improve health care in Manitoba. Through the Working Together agreement, the Government of Canada will provide close to $434 million to support Manitoba’s three-year action plan to improve health care, and approximately $199 million through the Aging with Dignity agreement to support their five-year action plan to improve home, community and long-term care for seniors.

Under the Working Together agreement, Manitoba will move forward with its commitments to fix the damage done to health care, starting with staffing shortages. The funding will support Manitoba’s goal to hire 400 more doctors, 300 more nurses, 200 paramedics and 100 home care workers. These targeted investments will help to add more acute and medicine beds to Manitoba’s health-care system, ease the pressure on crowded emergency rooms and expand primary care options to families so they can spend more time doing what they love to do and less time waiting for care.

Together, Canada and Manitoba are working to remove barriers for internationally trained doctors and health professionals to practise in Manitoba. This includes removing barriers to foreign credential recognition, simplifying licensing processes and increasing program access to educated and skilled health professionals. Manitoba will make it easier for health workers to move within Canada so they spend less time dealing with red tape and more time helping patients in need.

Manitoba will hire more psychologists to help reduce wait times for counselling and double hospital spaces for those experiencing homelessness and needing comprehensive health care and treatment. Additionally, the province will support addictions treatment services, peer support and other community-based mental health initiatives.

Through the Aging with Dignity agreement, Manitoba will ensure all seniors are able to age with dignity and respect. The province will better support seniors who want to age at home, in community or in personal care homes. To improve the quality of longterm care, the province will increase safety and standards and hire more long-term care workers to ensure clean, quality and personalized care. Manitoba will also create a seniors advocate to act as an independent, strong voice for seniors and their families.

The federal and provincial governments will engage and work with Indigenous Peoples to address gaps and systemic inequities in Indigenous health-care services and improve access to culturally safe care. Under the agreement, funds will support Indigenous families through Granny’s House, a project that provides culturally safe and community-led care to children and families. Funding will also support Indigenous-led treatment programs that provide culturally safe and relationship-based individualized care for youth. As we move forward on the shared path of reconciliation, safe and timely health care is a priority for Indigenous communities.

This investment is part of the government of Canada’s larger work to invest over $200 billion to improve health care including through tailored bilateral agreements with provinces and territories as well as $5.4 billion for Aging with Dignity agreements. Through the agreements announced today, the governments of Canada and Manitoba will deliver better results for patients, support health workers, and protect our health-care system now and into the future.

“Fixing the health-care staffing shortage is job number one for our government – that means more support for the bedside instead of the bureaucracy. We will work with the Government of Canada to hire more doctors and more nurses into our system, so we can start to cut wait times and deliver the best care possible for Manitobans,” Premier Wab Kinew.

THE HAMIOTA DISTRICT HEALTH CENTRE FOUNDATION INC. BURSARY FUND

Invites 4th and 5th year students enrolled in a healthrelated program to apply for this $2000.00 bursary. Forms and requirements obtained from Vaughn Wilson vwilson@inetlinkwireless.ca or Bev Bennett bennett2@goinet.ca

Submitted By Warren Smallwood

Volunteers will be helping to file income tax returns again this year. The program will run from March 4, 2023 to April 30, 2023.

Warren will be available at Zion Church three times a week to hand out packages, receive returns for processing and to return completed returns at the following times during March. In April the time will be on Thursday only.

Mondays from 1pm to 4pm

Wednesdays from 7pm to 9pm

Thursdays from 9am to 12pm

The Community Volunteer Income Tax Program is a free program for people with simple tax returns and income at or below a certain level. The following income levels qualify:

Single people $35,000 ~ Couples $45,000 ~ Single parent with a child $45,000 (Add $2500 for each additional dependent)

This program cannot be used if there is income from a business, farming, rental property or capital gains, or if someone is bankrupt or deceased.

There are three simple steps to getting income tax returns prepared. The first is to pick up the package of information at Zion Church. Fill out and sign a form and return it with all of the appropriate tax slips and paperwork. Due to some changes in the format of some paperwork the information form must be filled out. If you come with all your slips on the first visit, be prepared to fill in the information form before your return can be accepted. Some of the forms people forget include information about rent or property taxes paid, educational expenses and fees for daycare or children’s programs or medical costs. Some of these can increase the refund amount.

A volunteer will then complete your tax return and print out several other forms. They will then phone you for permission to file your return electronically. They will also tell you when to come back to pick up personal material. There is no need to mail anything, but all paperwork must be kept in case Canada Revenue Agency wants to see it.

In Rivers the program is offered by Prairie Mountain Health.

For more information call Warren at (204) 328-7251.

Additional information can be found on the Prairie Mountain Health web site, https:// prairiemountainhealth.ca/programs-and-services/primary-health-care/communityvolunteer-income-tax-program/

Riding Mountain Progressive Conservative Association Annual General Meeting for year-ending 2023, via Zoom & Teleconference Options.

Monday, March 11, 7:00 pm

All constituency PC members in good standing wishing to participate are asked to pre-register by noon, Thursday, March 7 by contacting Judy Snitynsky, 204-773-6347 Meeting participation information will be provided upon registration.

For Sale

Member Newspapers which are seen in over 368,000+ homes in Manitoba. Now booking Winter and Spring advertising for 2024. Please Call THIS NEWSPAPER NOW to book , or call MCNA at (204) 947-1691 for more details or to book ads. MCNA - Manitoba Community Newspapers Association. www.mcna.com

Construction Employee Required Independent, experienced builder (own tools) required for, from scratch building of remote cabins (start to finish), including propane appliances, plumbing, wiring, metal roofs, etc. May through September. Call 204-937- 4007

What

Very

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SPORTS

3 on 3 hockey tournament at Elton Community Center

By Jessica Coulter Rivers Banner

Elton Community Center hosted their 18th annual 3 on 3 hockey tournament on Friday, February 23 to Saturday, February 24. Fourteen teams signed up to come have fun at the little rink with the big heart in Forrest.

In order to compete in the tournament teams had to abide by the following rules. A max of 6 players on a team, all players must be 18 years old or older, and had to pay an entry fee of $120 per team. Returning teams received first spots.

The winners of the tournament were: A side – Blues, B side - Fighting Roo’s, C side - Goal Getters, and D side – Hillbillies.

Along with the hockey games, there were other events held during the two days. On Friday there was a meat draw. On Saturday, a roast beef supper was served. Later in the day on Saturday a live band, Whiskey River, played, and the community center held a rainbow auction and 50/50 draw.

“The weekend went very well, great crowds, awesome roast beef supper Saturday night, and many enjoyed the music by Whiskey River,” Kelly, Elton Community Center organizer.

By Jessica Coulter Rivers Banner

On Wednesday, February 21, the Huskies played Neepawa Tigers at the Yellowhead Centre 7:30pm. The Neepawa Tigers are the leading team in the Westman High School Hockey League. Huskies defeated the Tigers with a score of 3 - 1. Heading into the third period, both teams had scored one goal each. The Huskies put two more in the Tigers net to win the game.

On Thursday, February 22, the REMH Renegades came to Hamiota to play the final game of the regular season. Huskies won again with a score of 16 - 0.

The Huskies are holding third in the division heading into the playoffs with 24 wins and 5 losses.

The Huskies will now compete against the M/E Chancellors in the quarter finals best of three. First game was Wednesday, February 28 in Hamiota. Game two is Friday, March 1 in Minnedosa. Game three if needed will be Sunday, March 3.

24031ge0

A side winners – Blues

C side winners- Goal Getters

B side winnersFighting Roo’s

D side winners –Hillbillies

SPORTS

Jets players held a big discussion while awaiting the referee’s call. The call resulted in the Jets heading to the sin bin yet again.

By Jessica Coulter Rivers Banner

T

he U15 Rivers Jets have wrapped up the second round of playoffs from this past Saturday, February 24, in a home game against Neepawa beating them 8-0 with Kayden Elliot earning a shut out.

The Jets are off to A side provincials being hosted in Niverville and being played in St. Agathe starting Friday, March 1, in the morning at 11:45am.Once back home, the U15 Rivers Jets will start the third and final series against Roblin with home ice advantage game one being March 8 at 7pm in Rivers. “Calling all Rivers residents, please come and pack the place, bring your noise makers for these boys and girls are playing for the league title. Rivers is battling to be back-to-back Champs,” says Crystal Bourdin, team booster.

Game two will be in Roblin March 9 at 4pm. Should there need to be a third game it will be back in Rivers on March 13 at 8pm.

Submitted SHOAL LAKE Community Drop In Cntr March 12 11 am - 7 pm Have a co ee | Learn about incentives for seeding forage | improving rangelands | conserving wetlands/grasslands | improving marginal areas | growing winter wheat | DUC restoration programs are funded in part by

Game one of the West Semi Finals happened Thursday, February 22 in Virden, puck dropped at 8:30pm. The Virden Oil Kings scored four second period goals on the way to beating the Jets 6-3 in a penalty filled game. Gerald Kuculym, Alastair McFadden and Josh Belcher found the back of the net in the loss. Brody Smith added a pair of assists, while Riley Lamb made 29 saves in the loss.

Rivers Banner DUC provided over $9 million to farmers and ranchers in southwest Manitoba last year

Game two was played in Virden Saturday night, February 24, with a 7:30 puck drop. The Jets were looking to even up the Best of Five and they did. Adam Robidoux’s goal 0:33 into overtime helped the Jets draw even in the best of five West Division semi-final with a 5-4 win in Virden. Josh Belcher scored once and added a pair of assists in the win, while Jaxon Heeney added a goal and an assist. Riley Shamray and Troy Heywood also found the back of the net. Joben Smith chipped in with a pair of assists.

Game three Tuesday, February 27 in Rivers, puck dropped at 8:30pm. Riley Lamb stood tall making 48 saves as the Jets beat Virden 3-1 to take a 2-1 lead in the best of 5 West Division semi final. Joben Smith scored three times in the win while Brock Paddock added a pair of assists.

Game four is set for Thursday, February 29 in Rivers, puck drops at 8:30pm.

PHOTOS BY CRYSTAL BOURDIN

The team went up to Neepawa Sunday, February 25 battled through many penalties, one suspension but persevered and came out on top with a 4-0 win with Cameron Schoonbaert earning another shut out.

Fundraising for a new basketball court

By Jessica Coulter Rivers Banner

Forrest Elementary Parent Advisory Council is fundraising for a new basketball court at Forrest Elementary School. The project budget is approximately $50,000. So far, the council has raised $25,751.71 through fundraising, grants, direct donations, and the playground fund.

The current court is crumbling and turning into dirt and gravel due to 40 plus years and improper drainage, as it sits under water during spring melt and heavy rainfalls.

The basketball court previously had four standards, all removed for safety reasons. The parent advisory council fundraised enough to replace two which were installed in the summer 2023. They are now fundraising for two more, plus re-grading of the area, resurfacing of the asphalt and painting of lines on the new court at the Forrest Elementary school grounds to be completed during the summer 2024.

Individuals and businesses who are interested in supporting our fundraiser can make donations to Rolling River Education Fund, c/o RRSD, 36 Armitage Ave, Box 1170, Minnedosa, MB, R0J 1E0. Please put “Forrest Elementary PAC” in the memo line. Tax receipts will be issued for donations over $20.

Apple Enchilada Dessert

These apple enchiladas are simply apples rolled in flour tortillas. They are very delicious, easy, and fast to make. Substitute apples with peaches or cherries if desired.

Ingredients:

1 (21 ounce) can apple pie filling

6 (8 inch) flour tortillas

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or more to taste

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup margarine

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

• Spoon fruit evenly onto all tortillas and sprinkle with cinnamon. Roll up tortillas and place seam side down on a lightly greased 8x8-inch baking pan.

• Bring white sugar, brown sugar, water, and margarine to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes.

• Pour sauce evenly over tortillas; sprinkle with extra cinnamon on top to taste.

• Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Forrest Parent Advisory Council rebuilding basketball courts at elementary school..