The Parkland Mavericks’ game against the Winnipeg Assassins, scheduled for Saturday in Dauphin, was cancelled after the Winnipeg squad forfeited the game.
Mavericks captain Jordan Campbell said it was disappointing the game was cancelled.
“We were getting the field ready. We spent some money on the paint. Guys took time off of work making sure they were available. And, yeah, a lot of people were pretty upset. But it happens,” he said.
Campbell said the relationship between the Assassins and the Mavericks has always been a good one and he expects it to be a one-off event.
“I know that they played Thursday and they had 30 guys and they only had nine for the Saturday game,” he added.
Now the Mavericks will shift their focus to their next game, Saturday in Winnipeg against the Wasps.
The Mavericks want to play as many games as possible to be fine-tuned for the playoffs and they will be ready to go against the Wasps.
“We’ll just have to work on some more things and maybe have a little intrasquad game this week,” Campbell said.
Campbell is looking forward to the final two road games as they get ready for the playoffs.
“The boys are excited. We want to have the chance to go to Winnipeg and beat up on some Winnipeg teams,” he said.
The final game of the regular season will take place, Sept. 12, when the Mavericks play the Winnipeg Wombats.

By Terrie Welwood
Russell Banner

“When I see a stray dog arrive at my property scared, hungry, and simply looking for someone to care, I understand that feeling. In many ways, I was there once too. Resurrection Rescue is my way of making sure that neither people nor animals have to face that darkness alone.”
IED: A homemade or unconventional bomb.
It’s an abbreviation that comes up a few times as Steve Stoesz tells the story of his time in the military. And his reasons for starting up Resurrection Rescue and their upcoming Mud for Mutts fundraiser on August 29 and 30.
That story is as interesting as it is important, in many different ways. We’ll share some of it here.
Steve recalls that his first IED experience was on May 25, 2008.
“It was a suicide vehicle that detonated right beside our LAV,” he remembers, adding that he was the gunner standing in the turret, looking directly toward the explosion.
“Up until that moment, the idea that I could be wounded or killed overseas had crossed my mind, but after that blast it became a physical reality. Everything changed.”
Before that day, he said, as the fighting season had not really started, their tour had been relatively quiet.
“The Taliban typically fought during the summer months when the green foliage provided cover. After that day, it was like someone flipped a switch. Gun battles became a daily occurrence across the area we were operating in.”
The first firefight, he said, it hit him hard.
“Two Afghan National Army soldiers fighting alongside us were shot. While our medic treated them, we provided security as rounds cracked past us, some coming frighteningly close. Watching the damage those bullets caused just behind us while hearing them fly all around was a sobering experience. It drove home just how quickly life could change.”
As the tour continued, there were countless gun battles, mortar attacks, and rocket attacks. Then, on July 4, Stoesz hit a second IED.

To read the whole story, pick up a copy of this week's Russell Banner and turn to pages 1 and 2.

The Parkland Chamber of Commerce has set a new date for its Street Fair.
The annual event originally scheduled for July 30, will now be held, Sept. 18, at CN Park and along 1st Avenue NW.
With a lot going on in September with Culture Days just starting, Chamber executive director Kamryn Winters said competing with different events on weekends is not something the Chamber would like to do.
“So the Friday made the most sense for the Chamber to put it on. The issue with kids being in school that day is something that we’re aware of,” she said.
“We’re hoping to have more day care kid-friendly activities during the day and then keep the kid zone open later into the night so that kids that are in school can still come to the street fair after school or on their lunch hour if they’re in high school and just enjoy the street fair into the night.”
With the Dauphin Kings playing their home opener the next night, Winters also wanted to tie the street fair in with that.
“We ideally wanted to do something like a food truck war with the Kings for their home opener. A tailgate party on the Saturday. We even extended an invite to our vendors from the street fair to stay for a second day and come to the tailgate party,” she said.
“Hopefully, we get some taking that. We really just wanted to promote a whole weekend of activities. There’s a lot of Chamber members that are doing things over the weekend.”
The Chamber is now looking for vendors who want to set up a booth at the street fair, as well as volunteers to help set up and tear down.
Anyone interested can visit the Chamber’s website at parklandchamber.ca.
Winters is looking forward to a successful street fair.
“I’m hoping that everybody comes out to enjoy the street fair in fall fashion,” she said.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew announced Monday emergency department services will be restored at the Dauphin Regional Health Centre as a temporary facility by Labour Day.
Kinew made the announcement via a video on Facebook, adding the facility will provide the high quality services expected by Parkland residents.
Prairie Mountain Health CEO Treena Slate announced last week cleanup at the Dauphin Regional Health Centre (DRHC) is almost done and work is now set to begin the restore the facility.
“Since July 1 and the complete evacuation of DRHC, Prairie Mountain Health and Shared Health teams, along with their community and government partners, have worked together to make significant progress on restoring community-based services as close to Dauphin as possible,” she stated.
“Now that cleaning work is mostly complete in the flooded-out areas within the DRHC, they are now in the ‘restoration and rebuild phase’ of the project, with procurement of supplies and equipment underway.”
Additional progress on services to date includes:
• A new temporary Shared Health Diagnostic Patient Service Centre is located in the Provincial Building, Level 1, Room 111, 27 Second Avenue Southwest in Dauphin.
Services provided include lab, x-ray, EKG and Holter monitoring from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday to Friday.
Since its opening on Aug. 7, the temporary Shared Health Diagnostic Patient Service Centre has served over 200 patients.
• The Ste. Rose Emergency Department (ED) continues to be staffed to provide ED services 24 hours a day, seven days a week to support the needs of Dauphin and area residents.
The regular staffing complement includes nursing staff trained in obstetrical care and staff to support mental health and addictions.
• The Grandview Emergency Department continues to be open seven days a week, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• An outpatient treatment clinic is open in the Community Health Services building, which is attached to the hospital.
• The Palliative Care Program will be based out of the Dauphin Personal Care Home starting, Aug. 24.
See next week’s Dauphin Herald for more on the restoration..

The Parkland Mavericks opened their second half schedule with a 42-10 victory over the Winnipeg Wanderers, Saturday in Dauphin.
Ronin Mouck led the way with three tries and two converts. Joseph Lopez, Will Miner and Daniel Evans also had tries, while Evans chipped in with four converts.
Mavericks captain Jordan Campbell felt the Mavericks were not at their best, but managed to get the job done.
“We looked a little sloppy. But overall, we’re happy with the outcome, that’s for sure,” he said.
The Mavericks were called for a number of penalties throughout the game, but it didn’t cost them as they kept the Wanderers from getting too many opportunities to score.
Campbell was impressed with how the Mavericks supported each other throughout the contest.
“We kind of picked each other up. Morale was high. But the young guys showed up. They were ready to run, which they did really well today,” he said, adding the Mavericks need to pick up the intensity and make sure they are getting ready for the playoffs.
“We’ve got three more games to really hammer it out,” he added.
At 6-2, the Mavericks will look to go undefeated in the final three games.
The next game is Saturday at 2 p.m., when the Mavericks host the Winnipeg Assassins.
“They’re going to come hungry to beat us. I know that they’ve lost a few in Div. 2, so come and watch,” Campbell said.

Shelly Love shot an 83 to win the Dauphin Ladies Club Championship, Sunday, at the Dauphin Lake Golf Club.
Donna Davidson finished second, nine shots back of Love. Linda Kitching’s 98 was good for third place on a count back.
Colleen Johnson shot a 99 to win the first flight on a count back. Verna Vanrobaeys was second with a 115 and placing third was Lori Bourque who shot a 122.
Margo Elliott won the second flight on a count back, shooting a 123. Bertha Davis was four shots back to finish second, while Eleanor Snitka was third on a count back with a 129.
Barb Hrehirchuk’s 132 won her the top spot in the third flight, two strokes ahead of Theresa Zabiaka. Leana Compton was third with a 138.
Cindy Schroder won the Most Honest Golfer after shooting a 156. Compton won the closest-to-the-hole on no. 11.

On August 13, 2026, the provincial government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Opaskwayak Cree Nation(OCN) to establish a community court in OCN that would integrate Cree legal traditions and culturally grounded approaches to the administration of justice.
“This is a community-led initiative and is being driven by the community,” said Manitoba Justice Minister Matt Wiebe. “They presented us with a larger justice plan that includes building out their restorative justice programming, programming for youth, anti-gang, reintegration plans and a larger justice plan for Opaskwayak Cree Nation.

The Swan Valley is made up of some incredibly dedicated people who are passionate about the community they live in and have a desire to make it better for others. One very dedicated and long-standing volunteer in the community is Neil Brown. Brown became very involved with the Swan Valley Historical Museum over 40 years ago and has been helping out with it ever since.
“I started volunteering with the Swan Valley Historical Museum back in the 1980s,” said Brown. “There were a bunch of guys who wanted to get a steam engine running. There wasn’t an operating one at the museum at that time, so a bunch of us got together and with the community’s help, we got a steam engine. We worked together to recondition it, so it could be operated.
“That took about four or five years to do. There was a lot of work to do to raise the money for the steam engine and then it took about two years to restore it. We don’t run it anymore, partly because we don’t have a licensed operator to run it. We need a couple of licensed operators to help us out with that.
“I’ve always enjoyed the total history of the Swan Valley,” said Brown. “The Valley goes back a long way, and I like to learn about and see the people. I’m also very interested in the old tractors and threshing machines. I grew up with a lot of those in my time.”
Over the years, Brown has been involved in volunteering on different projects for the museum. He has watched the museum grow and change, but the interest is still strong in preserving the history of the area.
“During the time I’ve been involved with the museum, we put up a workshop, received a donation to help build the Gulash Building, and did a lot of maintenance,” said Brown. “We had to deal with the roofs and shingles on a lot of these buildings over the years, and that has been an ongoing project. We tried doing a building every year, but it all takes time and fundraising.
“I’ve also been working on the train. That keeps me busy. I’ve helped build the track and some of the cars. I’m always trying to maintain what we have there and see if there are ways we can make it better. There was a lot of manual labour that went into building the track for the train. The train cars have a steel frame and the riding car has a cushion to sit on. The locomotive is all metal. We have two of them; one is battery-operated, and the other is a gas motor.
“The museum board is now working on the train station,” said Brown. “That is a good thing for the museum, for it shows that we are still going on. The board has been working hard and things are looking really good, and I’m sure happy about that.
“We have other people interested in keeping the tractors running and other things as well. It’s a good group of people that come forward to help out.”
Brown knows a lot of fundraising has to take place to keep the Swan Valley Historical Museum going. He said the efforts for raising funds were always strong and continue on today, as new members create new ideas to keep things alive.
“Over the years, the museum applied for grants and hosted two suppers during the year,” said Brown. “We received a lot of donations as well, to help keep things going. The museum has grown over time. I give a lot of credit to the people who started it and kept it going for all that time.
“The Harvest Festival Day has been going, I think, since the entire time that the museum has been operating,” said Brown. “It was an event that brought people to the museum and had things for people to do. Before the hall was built, I believe there was no supper, but rather like a picnic set up.
“Especially in the last few years, we have been seeing big crowds come out for the Harvest Festival Day. Everyone comes out to enjoy the old-time activities like the bread baking, horse carriage rides, train rides and so much more.
“Mistletoe Magic has been a successful event that some of the newer board members came up with for the museum,” said Brown. “I was still president of the museum board at that time, and it was a new group of people who came on board and brought forward the idea. It has been very good and it’s been one of the highlights for the museum. That event sure got the attention of the community.”
Brown’s dedication to the Swan Valley Historical Museum led him to be the president of the board for a period of time. He credits all the work done to the many volunteers and board members who helped put it all together and make it happen.
“I was president of the museum board for about 12 to 14 years,” said Brown. “I was there quite a bit of the time, so the board asked me to be president. I had a good board to work with all the time I was president.
“I’m glad to see that has continued on, now that I’ve taken a back seat. I’m still pretty active with the museum and help out when I can. Overall, I’m very happy with how things are going.”

While the Benito Splash Park has been operational for much of the summer already, the completion of the project construction was celebrated on Saturday (Aug. 15) as part of the post-poned Canada Day festivities. Pictured here, local children have a blast in the splash park during the foam party in the afternoon, not letting the temperatures or the rain ruin their fun. See more on A9.

Waywayseecappo First Nation held their annual pow wow over the first weekend of the month, drawing dancers, groups and officials from around the province and even farther afield.
Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, the National Grand Chief of the Assembly of First Nations - shown far left with long time Waywayseecappo Chief Murray Clearsky was also on hand along with Gerry Davis of the Southern Chiefs Organization.