Team Whyte claims all-Scottish GSOC men’s final

Scotland’s curling scene has more to offer than just world No. 1 Bruce Mouat.

The Players’ Championship men’s final early Sunday in Steinbach was a Scottish showdown between Ross Whyte and Kyle Waddell.

Waddell hadn’t lost all week, but it was Whyte — who went 3-2 in the round robin before catching fire in the playoffs — who came away with a 6-3 victory.

“This is special,” said Whyte, 27, who arrived in Manitoba as the No. 5-ranked team in the world. Waddell is just outside the Top 10 at No. 11.

Smile/Epic St Malo to close recycling plant

After more than 32 years, Smile of St Malo/Epic de St Malo will be closing its recycling plant due to proposed changes regarding recycling in the province.

In recent posts on Facebook, Smile/Epic informed the public that its recycling program would end March 31 and that the closure had to with proposed changes to the recycling system brought on by Multi-Material Stewardship Manitoba Inc. (MSMM), a non-profit, industry-funded organization, made up of businesses such as grocers, retailers, and companies that produce package and printed paper products (PPP).

For 15 years, MMSM has been providing funding and support for residential recycling of PPP materials in 148 communities. MMSM does not deal directly with organizations such as Smile/Epic St Malo, but with municipal governments.

The Carillon and Derksen Printers, which are owned by the FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership, are a part of the MMSM.

Carillon Sports Second Shots: Jan 8th edition

Featuring photos from an MJHL game in Steinbach on New Year's Eve, a Steinbach Huskies game at the T.G. Smith Centre Jan. 2 and the SRSS Sabres Basketball home opener.

Tirinzoni outlasts Einarson in Grand Slam final

A magical run at the Grand Slam of Curling’s Players’ Championship came up one shot short for Team Kerri Einarson.

The Gimli-based Team Einarson needed to win a do-or-die game just to make the playoffs at the final Grand Slam of the year, hosted at the Southeast Event Centre. The hometown favourites then squeaked out extra-ends victories in the quarter and semi-finals, much to the delight of the home-town crowd.

It was Team Einarson’s first time playing at a Grand Slam in Manitoba, as the last time a women’s event was in the province was over a decade ago.

After falling behind 3-0 early against Switzerland's Silvana Tirinzoni thanks to some missed runbacks in the second end leading to a steal, Einarson fought back, creating absolute chaos in the rings in the final end while down two. While it appeared she had a shot for three and to win the game, a raised double attempt slid out of scoring range, leading to a score of just one, and Tirinzoni’s third straight Players’ Championship victory.

PC MLAs criticize local media committee report over lack of involvement

A report from Manitoba government’s all-party committee recommending tax credits and mandated government advertising for local media has garnered criticism from opposition committee members over their lack of involvement.

The committee of six MLAs, two from the Progressive Conservatives and four from the NDP, released its final report on Dec. 19. It outlined three recommendations, including exploring a provincial tax credit for local media outlets, mandating a minimum 25 percent of the government’s advertising budget go to local journalism, and creating a reporting mechanism for government ad spending.

Committee member PC MLA Konrad Narth said he only found out about the written report one day before it was made public and both him and fellow PC committee member Greg Nesbitt didn’t have any say on creating the recommendations. Narth has since requested his and Nesbitt’s names be removed from the report.

“I drove around all those communities, sat in these consultation meetings, listened, took notes and then watched what the NDP had drafted and presented as a report that had our involvement, has our names in it, but we had nothing to do with it,” he said.

SRSS graduate Sienna Driedger returns to region to host volleyball camp

One of the region’s best recent volleyball graduates gave back to young players this holiday season.

Sienna Driedger, who graduated Steinbach Regional Secondary School in 2024 after leading the school to a AAAA provincial banner that season, hosted a pair of training camps at the Southeast Event Centre right before Christmas.

“I’ve always had a heart for coaching, but I’ve haven’t really had the time to,” Driedger said after a session Dec. 16.

“I thought this was an ideal time, because girls are done school season but not in club yet… I honestly had no idea what the interest would be.”

Daycare shortage hits home for Niverville mom

Dakota Johnston didn’t expect she would have to search for a daycare before she had her baby.

The 21-year-old single mother from Niverville began hunting for a spot when she was three months pregnant in April 2025. She called dozens of daycares, signing up for at least 30 wait lists in and around Niverville.

Johnston got the same answer with each call: there’s no room and she’d have to wait up to four years for a spot.

“I thought that was absolutely insane. Like, three to four years by that time she’s in school,” she told The Carillon. “As a single mother, there’s not a lot of support.”

PHOTO GALLERY: Christmas on the Farm hosted at MHV

Christmas on the Farm took place at the Mennonite Heritage Village on Jan. 4. The free event was organized by the South East Manitoba Draft Horse Association as a way to give back to the community and bring people together. There was also a Tin for the Bin for folks who wanted to donate food, which last year produced 300 pounds for food banks in the Southeast. This is the second year that the association has held this event at MHV, but it has been holding wagon ride events for 20 years. This year there were five teams and one single horse pulled wagon for crowds to enjoy. Teams came from Mitchell, La Broquerie, Kleefeld, Roseau River, and just south of Steinbach.

Wrong address delays Steinbach fire response

Confusion resulted after a 911 call that dispatched Steinbach Fire Department on Jan. 2. Fire Chief Kel Toews said the call came in stating there was a fire at a Pleasantwood address. Because no such street exists in Steinbach, crews went to Pleasant Drive instead. They quickly learned that was incorrect as well, responding instead to a fire in a garage on Crescentwood. Toews said the time lost did not change the outcome as the damage was to the item burning in the garage and not the structure itself.

COLUMN: Village News – January moments you won’t want to miss

Ahh January, the month of new beginnings, a fresh slate, a sigh of exhale after the busy Christmas season. To me, January signifies the opportunity to begin anew. We say goodbye to the past as we welcome in the new year. So 2026 looms ahead full of possibilities and new memories to make. While MHV remains closed until Jan. 6 at 9 a.m., we are busy planning and preparing for a new year full of events, programming, and memory-making opportunities.

December to February: Winter in the Village

From December to February, experience winter in MHV’s picturesque village! Enjoy skating, snowshoeing, sleigh rides, and a roaring bonfire. Don’t own skates or snowshoes? Rent them here! Try your hand at Crokicurl, a Canadian game that blends crokinole and curling into one fun, outdoor activity! See MHV’s Main Street lit up with Christmas lights during our light show on Saturday evenings. Warm up with our Winter in the Village Cafe, featuring hot chocolate, hot apple cider, and a variety of freshly baked goods. Open Tuesday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. (most activities happening on Saturdays). While winter often feels long and dark, it is my hope that Winter in the Village at MHV can be a place for celebrating the unique winter season we experience here in Manitoba!

Jan. 8 and 22: Exhibit Explorers

SPORTS FLASHBACK 2000: Warriors cling to lead in tight HTHL race

Despite an 8-3 loss to the La Broquerie Habs last Wednesday, the St Malo Warriors still hold a precarious one-point lead atop the standings in the Hanover Tache Hockey League.

But the four HTHL teams that will be involved in the first round of the Allan Cup playdowns later this month are within easy striking distance of the Warriors and all four have several games in hand. Springfield and Ile des Chenes are a point back. Springfield has three games in hand on the Warriors and the North Stars have two.

Grunthal and La Broquerie are tied with 16 points each and each have played only 13 games compared to 16 for St Malo, in what is turning out to be one of the tightest races in the HTHL in years.

Wednesday at La Broquerie, when Michel Normandeau opened the scoring for the Habs with a shorthanded marker just two minutes into the game, it set the stage for a surprisingly easy victory for the Habs, who held period leads of 2-1 and 5-1 on the frontrunners. Normandeau also scored the final goal of the game for the Habs in the third.

Steinbach Christian School students to exhibit at Steinbach Cultural Arts Centre

Steinbach Christian School students will be exhibiting their artwork at the Steinbach Cultural Arts Centre’s Hall Gallery and Studio Gallery from Jan. 9 to Feb. 20.

“I think we sometimes put teenagers in a bit of a box and assume a lot about them. I think these types of exhibits that show adolescent artists - teenage artists - that we can still learn a lot from them and that they have fresh ideas that we can be inspired by as well,” said Ryan Polinsky, head of the school’s visual arts department.

SCS has exhibited previously at the Steinbach Cultural Arts Centre, with the last time being before the COVID pandemic. This year’s theme is tension and conflict in storytelling, which was left open to the students’ interpretation. They were shown other artists’ interpretations of tension and conflict to get them thinking about the theme.

“Stories aren’t interesting without some sort of conflict. Even if we don’t want that conflict to be there while we’re reading it, we still find it very intriguing to see how it gets solved,” said Polinsky.