Ewasko’s ice shining on Olympic stage

Greg Ewasko felt a rush of emotions Wednesday evening as the first rocks slid down the pebbled ice he helped create, officially ushering in the start of the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Pride. Relief. A brief moment of horror when a power outage plunged the venue into darkness. And, beneath it all, a deep sadness over what could have — and should have — been.

The Oakbank product had spent years imagining this day alongside his wife, Monique. Together, they mapped out what their first Olympic Games would look like. But not long after Ewasko received the call he’d dreamed of in the fall of 2023 — the World Curling Federation wanted him as an ice maker — Monique died of cancer.

“We didn’t really get to celebrate it,” he told the Winnipeg Free Press, his voice cracking.

COLUMN: Tales from the Gravel Ridge – Remembering why they mattered

Why, we may ask ourselves, should we remember old stories and the individuals in those stories? Especially when there is so much going on in the world all around us. And, even more importantly, when so much historical information is available on the internet. Perhaps therein lies the reason why we should indeed remember our own personal stories and how they relate to family, friends, and numerous others, lest these stories be buried by information overload.

Ultimately, the stories of our lives, and especially the stories of our childhood and early adulthood will be lost. We may well think that such a loss is of no consequence. John Donne, the English poet thought, however, that our stories do matter. In his famous poem, No Man is an Island, Donne reiterates that all our stories are important; “Any man’s death diminishes me”, and then goes on to say “Because I am involved in mankind.” In essence, the effect that the lives of others have on us is also part of our individual stories.

Of paramount importance and influence on my life were the lives of my parents, and along with them, the members of my entire family. My view of life continues to be shaped by those influences, and by their response to the circumstances of their own lives.

Memories of the lives of others also have an influence on my continuing development. By the end of my first grade at the Rosengard School, under the teaching of Mr. Jakob Penner, I had become trilingual. At home I was already fluent in two spoken languages, being Mennonite Low German and German. My parents, Cornelius and Katarina Falk, were particular about keeping those two languages distinct, even though there were some similarities. Since English was the spoken language at school, I as a six year old had become somewhat proficient in that regard, in addition to learning how to read and write in English, given that the school year consisted of nine months of instruction.

Proximus 5 takes Steinbach stage

SCI rink reaches schoolgirls final

While the SCI Sabres hockey team managed to win only one of three games in a tournament at Copper Cliff, Ontario, Sharon Dyck and her curling foursome went on a winning streak to give their school its best representation ever at the provincial schoolgirls’ curling championships in Winnipeg during the Christmas holidays.

Dyck and third, Marj Mooney, second Pat Guenther, and lead Donna Armstrong came within two wins of capturing provincial honors at the 94-rink bonspiel. Dyck’s rink reached the finals of the premier A&W event, before bowing to last year’s champs, the Pidzarko rink from Rossmere.

Even the final game was close, until Chris Pidzarko cracked a three on the seventh end and stole singles in the eighth and ninth to put the game out of reach for the Steinbach foursome.

By reaching the finals of the first event, Dyck got a second shot at the provincial honors in a playoff involving the three trophy winners.

New Bothwell holds its first vintage sled show and shine

New Bothwell held its first vintage sled show and shine last Saturday and organizer Scott Latimer said he was very pleased with the turnout calling it “a good start.”

“That’s a great number for a first-time show. So it’s positive.” he said, noting 35 sleds were shown at the event which took place during the town’s Winter Carnival.

“I’m a vintage sled guy myself, and there’s not a lot of shows in this area. So, I figured it would be a great opportunity to combine the existing carnival here in New Bothwell and bring a little extra people in the door to look at some sleds.”

The New Bothwell show and shine is one of many sled show and shines to be held in the month of February in the Southeast, with communities such as Woodridge, St Malo, and Prawda hosting their own shows.

Habitat for Humanity is looking for a family to live in Landmark home

Habitat for Humanity Manitoba is looking for a family that would be interested in living in one of its homes in Landmark.

“We want a family that’s really looking to have a home of their own,” said Christina Falk, manager for chapter support.

“The situation of the family that was living in it, just their life situation changed, and they needed to move away. Which happens from time to time…but it’s kind of a unique situation because we won’t be going through the whole build process that we normally do for Habitat. It’s already ready to go.”

The home in Landmark was built in 2023 and is the last Habitat home built for the Southeast. The home is a bi-level, side-by-side, with four bedrooms (two up and two down), an open living/kitchen concept with an island and a walk-in pantry, and an attached single-car garage.

Fraud investigation leads to drug charges

A complaint of someone using a stolen credit card led to a drug bust with four people facing multiple charges as well as seizures of cocaine and methamphetamine according to Manitoba First Nations Police Service (MFNPS).

Police say they were advised of the stolen credit card being used at a local business on Roseau River Anishinaabe First Nation on Feb. 7.

“Police promptly identified the female suspect involved and attended her residence, where she was placed under arrest without incident,” they said in a Feb. 9 press release.

During the arrest police observed drug paraphernalia in what they described as “in plain view”.

Musical debut packs theatre

Artista Academy’s first production from its Lumina program packed the SRSS theatre for four shows last weekend.

Piney Regional Chamber of Commerce celebrates 10 years

The Piney Regional Chamber of Commerce is celebrating 10 years of working for and with businesses in the RM of Piney.

“It’s great. We love the support, we love giving back, we’re starting to really get some recognition…,” said Monique Chenier, secretary for the Piney Chamber of Commerce and economic development manager for Sunrise Corner Economic Development.

“It was started by some very passionate local business owners and they could see the value it could bring, and in fact, one of the things they advocated for very early on was to get an economic development manager in this region, and it’s why I have a job.”

Chenier said the goal of the PRCC is to try to provide supports and networking to help business owners grow their enterprises and meet up with like-minded entrepreneurs and business leaders in the community. “I think we’re that conduit, I guess, through that we can all connect in and help each other do better,” she said.