Hanover school trustees called to minister’s office again, expert calls policy open to censorship

The Hanover School Division board of trustees were called to the education minister’s office for the second time in two years over a policy it passed that could be deemed discriminatory and could lead to censorship.

The trustees passed Policy AK – Responsible Use of Educational Resources during the last board meeting. The policy was created after parents, students, and teachers were complaining about inappropriate content in schools, according to board chair Dallas Wiebe.

Wiebe wouldn’t say what the content was, what form it was viewed, or how students were exposed to the content. He did say trustees had been working on the policy for the past two years.

“I’m going to estimate roughly two years in discussion where we had different materials that were graphic (brought to us), and we’ve also had materials, posting things that were – you know, things that were inappropriate…We heard from all kinds (of people) where materials were inappropriate and not by a small margin. I’ll leave it at that,” he told The Carillon after the meeting to approve the policy.

Carillon Sultans perfect week gives team breathing room in MJBL

Four wins in four days has the Carillon Sultans sitting in a great position heading into the home stretch of games in the Manitoba Junior Baseball League.

The Sultans took down Winnipeg South 4-1 in a mid-week contest June 18, defeated Interlake at the league’s annual showcase event in Steinbach June 20 before back-to-back wins over Elmwood June 21.

Interlake and Elmwood had been part of the group nipping at the Sultans heels in the standings, but after the weekend’s action both teams were 5.5 games behind league-leading Carillon.

“The team is in a really good place right now,” head coach Don Meilleur said after the weekend’s action, adding the team has faced some good pitchers during their current seven-game win streak.

1946 – 2026: Watching Steinbach Grow – Town’s first mayor never needed an election

SEPTEMBER 25, 1959—Being the first mayor of any town is quite a distinction. Being mayor of that town for its first 10 years is an even greater distinction. Although he passed the gavel to L.A. Barkman a year ago, K.R. Barkman is still regarded as the “Mayor Emeritus,” the embodiment of the spirit which welded the Village of Steinbach into a full-grown town.

Reflecting on his time in office, the former mayor was quick to point out that not everyone was “for” him.

“One day, when I was mayor, a man came into my office. He looked me in the eye and said he had been going around saying everything in the dictionary that was bad about me. What is more, he said he was going to keep right on saying it. The fellow turned and walked out. I guess when you live for 50 years in a place, there are bound to be some people that aren’t for you.”

Taking everything together, it appears that the people who “weren’t for” Klaas Reimer Barkman during the years he was mayor of Steinbach, were few and far between.

City councillor to seek third term

Damian Penner is the first City of Steinbach councillor to announce he will be seeking another term during this fall’s municipal election.

Penner is completing his second term, for a total of eight years on council and said he made his decision after considering and getting feedback from his family and the employees at Rocco’s Pizzeria, the restaurant he owns in Steinbach.

“When you put your hat in the ring to be a municipal official, I strongly believe that you have to be committed for the four years,” he said.

Penner said he’s proud that council completed two major projects in the last term, the Southeast Event Centre and the infrastructure renewal that saw a new intersection at Highway 12 and Loewen Boulevard, both unprecedented in terms of financial cost and scope.

Carillon Sports Second Shots: June 18th edition

Featuring a Hanover Soccer Scrimmage and Jamboree June 11 and a Carillon Sultans Manitoba Junior Baseball League double-header June 14.

Inaugural festival of Filipino culture in Steinbach a success

June 13 marked the first of what promises to be many annual celebrations of Filipino culture in Steinbach and across southeast Manitoba as the highly anticipated Filipino Heritage Celebration brought the Pat Porter Active Living Centre to life.

Organizer Angelica San Juan estimates more than 250 people attended the gala event, and happily related her crew of volunteers had to break out extra chairs and tables to accommodate all the guests that came out to enjoy the evening.

“Honestly I was so busy, I am not sure of the exact number!” she said. “The Filipino community in Steinbach is growing so quickly. This event was a bit of a trial balloon to see just how strong the sense of community really is here.”

Certainly, the strength of the Filipino community in the region was on display starting right at the entrance to the hall where members of The Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals helped with admission and tickets for the popular 50/50 draw.

Heavy foot dooms cigarette smugglers

RCMP on the Trans-Canada Highway seized 800 cartons of cigarettes, but it wasn’t the result of any longstanding investigation that led to their bust.

Instead, police admit it was the perpetrators’ heavy foot and the smell of cannabis that alerted them to the situation.

RCMP say on June 11, an officer was traveling west on the Trans-Canada Highway near Dufresne when a vehicle came up from behind driving 130 km/h.

Police pulled the vehicle over and was told by the two occupants inside they were heading back to Winnipeg from Ontario. The officer smelled cannabis and arrested both.

Springfield Pride celebrates third year, first pride walk

Springfield Pride celebrated its third annual Pride with a walk this year.

“We want more visibility,” said co-founder Shelley Campbell. “We want more. We want people in the community to see us, to know that we’re here, to know that they’re safe. There is a space for them.”

Springfield Pride walked down Dugald Road, which was an important aspect of Pride this year as it was a way to be visible when Campbell and co-founder Kristin Whent felt that the LBGTQ+ community was being held back.

What prompted the walk was Springfield council denying the Springfield Pride organization’s request to fly the LGBTQ+ flag outside the RM office, something Pride organizers had been doing for the past two years since its inception.

1946 – 2026 Watching Steinbach Grow: Late spring downpour floods Southeast

JUNE 19, 1959—Over four inches of rain in two days drowned out much of the seeded acreage in the Southeast, caused thousands of dollars in damage to country roads and bridges, and at one point one-third of Steinbach streets were under water, in the worst flooding the community had ever seen.

This is the second time this spring much of the area has been under water and there is a fear that it will be impossible to seed thousands of acres in the aftermath of the flood.

The heavy rain created flash-flood conditions in Steinbach, when water in ditches and the Steinbach Creek started rising after the rain stopped, and the water rushed in from the east.

The peak of the flood came at 3 a.m., Thursday morning (June 11), when a third of the town, south and west of Main Street, was flooded. Three families were forced to leave their homes for the night, but were able to return later in the morning.

COLUMN: Village News – MHV member card: saving money by supporting our museum

Summer is the best time to take advantage of an annual membership purchase. In general, if you visit Mennonite Heritage Village (MHV) more than twice a year, the free admission benefit pays for the membership. However, you don’t even have to visit MHV to take advantage of the savings. Our museum is part of a group of Manitoba museums called Signature Museums which showcase Manitoba’s unique history, culture, and natural heritage, and your member card provides you with free admission to all seven of these museums as well. As you explore our province this summer with your family or with your friends, take your MHV membership card along to get free or discounted admission to the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre in Morden, the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum in Brandon, the St. Boniface Museum in Winnipeg, the Manitoba Agricultural Museum in Austin, the New Icelandic Heritage Museum in Gimli, and the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada in Winnipeg. What a wonderful way to get to know other parts of our province!

Some of our members take advantage of the free admission perk by bringing their children to MHV every week in summer to visit the animals at our farm for an hour. They ask staff for permission to feed the sheep or goats and to give the chickens some grass clippings, or they play on the giant straw bales near the windmill. It’s a great adventure for the whole family.

We also see some members coming to our Pioneer Days festival for a few hours each of the three days on the August long weekend to see something different each day. They may come for the waffles and white sauce on Saturday, the Saengerfest concert on Sunday, and the threshing demonstration on Monday. They don’t feel the need to cram all the festival activities into one day but can spread out their participation over all three days without paying admission fees.

There are numerous other discounts available to members when you visit us. Your meal at the Livery Barn Restaurant will receive a 10 percent discount. Your book or tee shirt purchase at Village Books and Gifts will receive a 10 percent member discount. And when you are enrolling your children in our Pioneer Day Camps, your membership saves you $17.50 per camper. As well, you can bring two friends or relatives for a 50 percent discount on their admission every time you visit. This is a great way to spend an afternoon with out-of-town guests, enjoying a great meal, walking through our heritage buildings, recalling early family memories.