Piney keeping mill rate same for tenth straight year, $1 million extra accrued for 2026

The RM of Piney released its 2026 budget on Tuesday which annouced once again that the mill rate will stay at 12.09 mills, which should bring an additional $1 million to the RM’s operating budget compared to 2024 and mirroring 2025.

“Approximately 55 percent of the total tax bill is going to schools and the 45 percent remaining is the municipal taxation. So, within our tax revenue, we have two categories: there’s at-large, which we as individual property owners pay based on assessed value, and then there’s grant-in-lieu (which) is what higher levels of government pay to the municipality (in lieu of taxes),” said CAO Martin Van Osch during the meeting.

“What we look to collect from the at-large community, those residents, property owners, ratepayers within the municipality, is $1.7 million and the grant-in-lieu is $183,000.”

This year’s budget allocated $3.7 million into the RM’s general operating fund, which saw funds generated from taxation ($1.95 million) and other sources of revenue ($1.74 million), such as grants and land sales, and five percent from grants in lieu from the government ($183,837).

Agape House pilot for teen girls becomes permanent, addressing confidence, healthy relationships

Two years ago, Agape House created a pilot program aimed at bringing confidence and self-esteem to teen girls by showing what it looks like to be in a healthy relationship.

Now that the pilot project is complete, the organization has decided to continue providing the program to teen girls in the Southeast because it was so well attended.

“It really focused on early intervention and prevention. So, giving youth tools before crisis situations can arrive,” said Lisa Fast, outreach and housing coordinator.

The pilot program was made possible by the RBC Future Launch Teen Initiative Grant. Between 40 and 50 girls, aged between 14 and 17, participated in the program with workshops being held in Steinbach and Ste Anne. Fast said the program will be offered again in May in two rural communities in Hanover, but she couldn’t say which communities were being considered.

SPORTS FLASHBACK 2016: Priest postpones mass while Habs win 1956 Carillon Cup

A record-breaking crowd of more than 600 turned out to watch La Broquerie skate circles around the Steinbach Huskies, on the way to the 1956 Carillon Hockey League Championship and the coveted Prefontaine Cup that went with it. The game was played the Saturday night of the Easter weekend and La Broquerie priest Father Leon Roy rescheduled the start of a 9 p.m. service until well after the game was over.

Bob Wiebe scored for the Huskies in the second period and Gordon Kreutzer got one for Steinbach in the third, but goals by Pierre Pelletier, Roland Gauthier, Paul Taillefer and two by Adelard Pelletier, gave La Broquerie the margin of victory in the fifth game of the hard-fought final series.

It was an uphill battle for La Broquerie since the playoffs began, narrowly getting past Grunthal with six goals in the last 10 minutes to win the deciding game of the semi-finals 8-6.

After the Habs won the first two games of the finals, Steinbach came back to win the next two to force a fifth game during the Easter weekend.

SCO and Eden propose The Bridge on 3rd

New affordable housing that includes comprehensive mental health supports could see shovels in the ground as early as 2027.

Steinbach Community Outreach and Eden Healthcare Services presented their plan for the new 30-bed facility during the strategic priorities committee meeting on Tuesday.

They explained that 15 tenants will have access to specialized clinical programming including psychiatric care, medication management, life-skills coaching and 24/7 response.

The remaining 15 clients will live in suites similar to The Bridge at 224 Woodhaven. Mental health supports can also be accessed by those clients.

AS I SEE IT COLUMN: Congratulations Pistons, good luck Nighthawks and other random thoughts

Pistons – Congratulations to the Steinbach Pistons. While the organization is obviously disappointed that their season is over, their ability to consistently make the playoffs is remarkable. Since Paul Dyck took over the reigns as permanent coach in 2012, the team has never missed the MJHL playoffs. That is simply amazing.

Disappointed Pistons fan can take some solace that our team isn’t the Winnipeg Blues. The last time the Blues participated in the MJHL playoffs was way back in the 2016-2017 season. Yikes.

As is the case year after year after year, the biggest impact the Pistons have happens away from the rink, thanks to all the great community work the players do. Well done boys!

Jets – So Connor Hellebuyck can stone Team Canada in the Olympic gold medal game but he can’t lead the Jets into the playoffs. How disappointing and yet utterly unsurprising.

DANKOCHIK’S DRAFTINGS: Examining my lack of World Cup excitement

Four years ago, you couldn’t find a person who was more all-in on Canada’s men’s national soccer team.

Watching them qualify to the World Cup as the top team in the region, including memorable victories over the United States and Mexico are some sporting memories I will never forget.

So why am I not hyped for this year’s World Cup? Canada is hosting, I should be all-in. Maybe when the tournament starts I will be, but not participating in the qualification has taken a lot of the fun out of the process.

Canada hosting as part of a tournament across three countries probably doesn’t help either. If Canada were solo hosting, I’d probably be way more interested, but as part of not only dual-hosts, but triple-hosts, it’s just not hitting the same way the 2010 Olympics did.

Steinbach Pistons sputter out of MJHL playoffs

The Steinbach Pistons had their chance to force a winner-takes-all game seven in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League semi-finals.

With just two seconds on the clock and down 4-3, the Virden Oil Capitals iced the puck, setting up a last gasp chance for the visitors. While Sam Noad perfectly won the face-off back to Connor Paronuzzi, who was lurking right at the top of the slot, Tyson Ulmer read the play perfectly, squeezing by Brett Kaiser, who was screening for Paronuzzi, to get a leg on the ensuing shot to block it.

Head coach and general manager Paul Dyck said losses in game one and game two, where Virden came out and took early 3-0 leads inside the Southeast Event Centre, were too much to overcome. Steinbach’s coach had already been crunching numbers following the series conclusion, noting the Oil Capitals scored their first goals across the series seven minutes into the game, while it took Steinbach 23 minutes on average to find the back of the net.

“Game one and game two were so detrimental to our cause,” Dyck said a couple days after the loss.

Niverville Nighthawks glide into MJHL final

For four games, the Waywayseecappo Wolverines battled above their place in the standings during the Manitoba Junior Hockey League semi-finals, but finally faltered in game five.

The Niverville Nighthawks finished 40 points ahead of Waywayseecappo in the standings, but could only manage narrow victories and a loss until game five, a 7-0 drubbing on home ice April 10 to send them to the MJHL finals.

There was no drama to be had in the game, with Calyb Moore scoring the winning goal just 30 seconds into the first period, followed up 90 seconds later by Marlen Edwards to double the lead.

“Wayway did a really good job of playing a defensive style and clogging up the middle and bringing the series into the mud to start it out,” head coach Dwight Hirst said after the game.

Zach Lansard’s season continuing with Team Canada

While the Regina Pats season may have ended in the first round with a 4-1 series loss to top-ranked Medicine Hat, Zach Lansard’s season isn’t over yet.

Ste Anne’s Lansard, who is expected to be selected in this year’s NHL draft, will play with Team Canada, getting named to the pre-tournament roster for the upcoming U18 Men’s World Hockey Championships in Slovakia.

“Our group will continue to monitor the Canadian Hockey League playoffs, and we expect to add players prior to the start of the world championship,” U18 general manager Alan Millar, who selected the roster said in a Team Canada news release.

”At this time, we are pleased with the level of talent and international experience we have on our projected roster and are excited to gather in Slovakia in preparation to defend our gold medal.”

Carillon Sports Second Shots: April 9th edition

Featuring photos from Game four and five of the Capital Region Junior Hockey League finals and MJHL playoff games in Steinbach and Niverville.

COLUMN: Tales from the Gravel Ridge – Rosengard sounds that fill my memories

Memories of my childhood home and of Rosengard, the community in which we lived, fill my memory bank to overflowing. Among the many sounds of that era of long ago, is that of the school bell at the Rosengard School. Two of our grandchildren from Canada’s west coast spent a week of their two-week spring break with us. Needless to say, the school experiences of these eleven and thirteen year olds are vastly different from what ours were so many decades past. Nevertheless it is safe to say that many of the life lessons they are learning will stand them in good stead throughout their lives, much as we are reaping the benefits of ours of so many decades ago.

Memories of the school bell at Rosengard, ringing four times daily while school was in session, have a way of resurfacing from time to time. In a sense the school bell acts as a chronicle of that formative period in our lives, not because it supplies all the essential details, but rather because of the scenes it brings to mind.

Along with the school bell, of course, came other sounds at the Rosengard School. The laughter of children on the playground is surely one of the most enthralling of such memories; all but lost in the distant past, it nevertheless surfaces unbidden as we recall those carefree days from time to time. Following closely on the ringing of the school bell in the morning was the singing of “O Canada” our national anthem, and the reciting of “The Lord’s Prayer”. These opening exercises were followed by the roll call, when each student’s name was called out by the teacher, and each one responded by saying “present”.

Singing was an important part of our school program. We had no musical instrument in our school but fortunately our teachers knew how to sing and taught us a wide range of songs, many coming from the Manitoba School Songbook, and others from our respective teacher’s own repertoire. From my earliest memories of school, I also recall that we had a record player — a large portable black box which was normally stored in the school attic. On one occasion during those early years, I remember that this record player was brought down from its storage place. I can only recall the song “Listen to the Mockingbird” being played on that one occasion.