NDP leader Wab Kinew promised to improve conditions for producers when it comes to Crown lands at a town hall meeting in Dauphin, Saturday.

More than 60 people heard Kinew promise to reinstate unit transfers and make investment in Crown lands more affordable for producers.

“We want to improve dramatically the situation on Crown lands to help young producers, to help producers who are thinking of retirement and to assure the producers here in the Parkland have a fighting chance,” he said. “The specific steps we’re announcing are that we are going to ensure that there are unit transfers. We’re bringing that back in a fulsome way. We’re going to make the payments much more affordable in what has happened under the PCs.”

As part of the process, Kinew said, the NDP will ensure that there is consideration for the improvements producers make to the land.

“You put all these steps together and our commitment to working with the producers themselves, we’re going to create a situation where a young producer can still get their start here in the Parkland region and find success, while the existing producers have the time and energy investments that they’ve made into the land and to their operations respected and honoured. And that they’ll be able to get fair value for those investments when they decide to retire or perhaps move ahead with succession planning.”

One of the comments heard at the town hall was young producers in the Crane River area being pushed out of the industry.

“And that’s a very grim picture for the future of ag in the Parkland, if we allow that situation to continue. So what we’re saying is, let’s stop that damage, but let’s push it back, make it more affordable for operations, ensure that there are unit transfers and other considerations around improvements and help to give the ag industry here in the Parkland region a real chance to prosper in the future,” Kinew said.

While the two measures announced Saturday will help with the issues surrounding Crown lands, Kinew said the NDP will also commit to working with producers to identify additional needs.

“I think there are side conversations happening right now about just what that process (unit transfers, affordability and succession planning) should look like. We know that the PCs moved it over to an auction-based process. Our commitment would be to work with the producers to ensure we find an approach that works for them.”

Kinew was thankful to everyone in attendance for taking the time to attend the meeting and taking part in the discussions regarding some of the issues in this campaign.

“You can tell from the questions people aren’t holding back. People are frustrated with health care. People are frustrated with the PCs approach to the ag industry. And people are giving us a very straight forward account of what they need for the Parkland region and for Dauphin to succeed,” he said. “And so we’re here to listen and we’re making commitments to fix those situations.”

Kinew touched on the new justice facility announced a month ago for Dauphin, as well as the new supports for Crown land lease holders and health care, not only for Dauphin, but smaller communities within the Parkland, as examples of the commitment the NDP is taking to address the needs of Parkland residents.

Kinew feels the Dauphin riding is important for the NDP’s chances of forming the next provincial government.

Noting his wife Lisa, worked in Dauphin as a physician, Kinew said his wife told him they need more rural representation on their team.

“And you have a great candidate in Ron Kostyshyn here in this area, and I’m coming back to the community and to the region time and time again, because I believe in Ron and I want him to get elected,” he said. “I know it’s time for the Parkland to have a voice in the legislature. You’ve been missing that for the past two terms of government. But Ron will stand up for you. Mr. Kostyshyn will be a voice for you and that’s why I keep coming back, because I believe in this candidate and I want to see him get elected.”

Having the party leader come to Dauphin and the Parkland means a lot for Kostyshyn, noting Kinew shows his credibility.

“As he speaks, he connects with the general public. All we have to do is identify the seven years of what the PC party, Heather Stefanson and Brian Pallister, has done to our area,” he said. “Was there any consultation about the jail closure? No. It was automatic. They showed up one day and it was closed. We talk about the potential closing of Grandview hospital. We talk about other hospitals being subject to possible closure. That’s a reverse of rural economic development. I’m here to fight to be your MLA, to work with Wab Kinew.”

Area residents looking for general legal services have a new option to choose from thanks to a law firm from Swan River.

Vessey Law opened its satellite office in Roblin’s Cook and Cooke Financial building Wednesday (Sept. 13) and Devin Vessey is definitely looking forward to serving the community for many years to come.

Find out more in this week’s Review.

The community held its first ever Harvest Festival Saturday with hundreds of people taking in the pancake breakfast, the Craft/Trade Show, the Farmers’ Market and the children’s attractions.

There was also a full slate of contestants for the pie eating contest.

Check out the photos in this week’s Review to see what you missed.

If you are big into the theatre scene in Manitoba, chances are you’ve seen a play in which one of Roblin’s former residents has designed the sets for.

Brian Perchaluk has been heavily involved in the theatre scene in Manitoba for many years now. His career in set production and design has taken him to various theatres in Canada and has led to some prestigious awards.

Read the rest of the story in this week’s paper.

Manitoba Agriculture reported Sept. 12 that harvest progress was at 51 per cent complete across the province, which is ahead of the five year average (42 per cent). Winter wheat and fall rye harvest is complete with yield reports are averaging about 60 bu/acre for winter wheat and 70 bu/acre for fall rye.

Roblin's FAITH group hit the field Wednesday to bring in this year's crop for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. 

Details in this week’s paper.

It’s hard nowadays for people to understand how vitally important it is to locally grow and source your own food. Many of us rely on the convenience of what the supermarket and grocery stores offer, but The Pas Helping Hands 4-H took in a more hands-on approach to putting together a meal.
“The 50-metre Meal has been done around the world in many different shapes and forms,” said The Pas Helping Hands 4-H Leader Cheryl Antonio. “Shawn, from Round the Bend Farm and I have had a great 4-H farm relationship for a long time and we will quite often join forces to host events and activities. We were brainstorming one day and Shawn said he had been thinking about the 50-metre Meal for some time.

The Rotary Club of The Pas President Don McKay and Rotary District Governor Sonja Susut, visiting from Moose Jaw, SK, recently presented the Paul Harris Fellow Award to six deserving community members. The Paul Harris Fellow is the highest form of recognition a Rotary Club can bestow. It is presented to a Rotarian or a member of the community who has made an outstanding contribution to the community. The individuals recognized recently are:

A new CAO has been hired for the Town of The Pas and she has been busy getting acquainted with the community and assessing the needs of the municipality. Bola Adedoyin started in her new role earlier last month and has settled into the community. She comes with vast experience in administration from a few different levels.
“I came from Brandon and before that I lived in Saskatoon before I came to Manitoba about 13 years ago,” said Adedoyin. “I’m originally from Nigeria in West Africa. I studied in Nigeria and the University of Manitoba up to the Ph.D. level. I worked at the Federal University in Nigeria, University of Manitoba, Manitoba Bureau of Statistics, Assiniboine Community College, and now the Town of The Pas. I have more than 20 years, of work experience.

A series of cabins in the Valley has had quite an extensive history in the community and surrounding area. They became part of a few different family businesses and upbringings for some of the former local residents. The Moon Glo Cabins were another set of cabins in the Valley that tourists frequented before it became part of the Crescent Park Motel.
The Fosters ran the Moon Glo Cabins and resided on the property while raising their children.
“My dad was George Arthur Foster and my mom was Muriel Lavina Foster (Johnston),” said Lynn (Foster) Hall. “They were both born in 1906 and my dad was born in England. He came over to Canada when he was three years old. My mom was born in MacGregor. There were eight children in our family: Merceda (Mickey), Wilfred, Raymond, Donald, Glen, June, Douglas and then myself.
“I was born in 1946, and that’s when my family moved into town from the farm. My father and his brother-in-law built the majority of the Moon Glo Cabins. The Birchwood Cabins used to be our competitors.
“From what I can remember, there were about 10 cabins, but I don’t how many there were originally when they first started,” continued Hall. “We lived right on site in a huge four-bedroom with a full upstairs and downstairs. The home had a huge stretch of property attached to it.”
The Moon Glo Cabins didn’t have private bathrooms within each cabin but still had a fair number of amenities for the time period.
“The cabins were red with white trim and, I believe, there was a central bathroom or shower house with the ladies on one side and men on the other, with a hot water tank in the middle,” said Hall. “People were able to shower and use the flush toilets, but in the winter, my dad had to drain the hot water tank so it wouldn’t freeze up. There may have been outhouses on the property earlier on, but I’m not entirely sure.
“There was no running water in the cabins, but there was a cook stove to keep warm and my dad supplied water. There was a little table with chairs, dishes, and utensils that families could use to eat. Each cabin usually came with two beds and I remember making lots of those beds over the years.
“A lot of couples first started off their married lives in those cabins,” said Hall.
There was a lot of space for other recreational activities where the Moon Glo Cabins were. The Foster family had tons of animals on site for kids to play with and lots of yards for them to play games.
“We had a nice big lawn area that had swings on it and kids played crokinole out there,” said Hall. “My dad kept an immaculate lawn, with the grass and trees well-trimmed. There was a stone archway that had a sign above it saying Moon Glo Cabins. He had that made, with the pillars made of big boulders or river stones cemented in. That archway was the entrance to the property. We had a great big Caragana hedge from the house we lived in right down to where the archway was. There was always lots of yard work for him to do and he loved it.
“We also sold fuel there, British American Gas, and the tourists, especially Americans, stopped in back then. Some would even stay.
“There was a barn behind that had lots of room for people to park their boats and stop,” continued Hall. “Dad always had Shetland ponies or horses in the barn for kids to ride on. There were other animals including rabbits, dogs, and cats and in the beginning, we also had a cow. We raised a lot of Collie and Labrador dogs. My dad really loved animals.
“Behind the first row of cabins, there was a summer kitchen that people could use to cook their dinner or meals.”
Running the Moon Glo Cabins was literally a full-time job for the Fosters. There was always lots of work to be done to get the cabins ready for the next round of guests and visitors to stay there.
“Both my parents had their work cut out for them in the mornings with the cleaning of the cabins and making the beds for the next guests,” said Hall. “For the longest time, my mother did all the laundry herself with a ringer washer and hung out on the line. Eventually, they got the linens sent to Dauphin when that service became available for some of the businesses in town.
“We still had to make the beds and have lots of stock on hand because you couldn’t wait for the clean linens to come back. It took about three days for the clean stuff to arrive back at the cabins.”
The Fosters built a new house closer to the cabins, with an office attached to it. This change began to reshape the business.
“Eventually our parents built a new house, down towards where the gas pumps were,” said Hall. “We had a sign up that said for customers to beep the horn when they wanted to get fuel. Customers would honk their horns and, if dad was in the office, he would tend to them, if not, we would come down from the house.
“So, when the new home was built closer to the pumps, it was a two-bedroom home with a basement, then an office attached to it for the business. There was another unit attached to it for guests; it sort of started to take shape and look like a motel.
“My parents became good friends with a lot of the guests who stayed there. I can remember a couple would look after the place if they went away somewhere. Then I believe my parents moved into a house in town around 1970 or 1971 and that’s when they sold the cabins to the Waltons and it became Crescent Park Motel.”

Members of the community joined with the Mental Wellness and Suicide Prevention Committee for a community walk on Friday (Sept. 8) to raise awareness about suicide prevention and recognize World Suicide Prevention Day on Sept. 10. Participants also received information and materials to help them engage in personal awareness activities. Suicide remains a major public health problem in the world, with approximately 12 people in Canada dying from suicide every day. Suicide is also the second leading cause of death amongst youth and young adults between the ages of 15-34.