New catchment areas for Hanover School Division due to overpopulation of SRSS

The Hanover School Division is moving next year’s Grade 9 students in Kleefeld, New Bothwell, and Blumenort to neighbouring high schools due to overpopulation at Steinbach Regional Secondary School.

“This is something that’s been in discussion,” said board chair Dallas Wiebe. “And talking with principals, talking with students, talking with communities, and with our admin, and just looking at the numbers, and it’s full.”

SRSS is currently at or near capacity, with enrolment projected to exceed 2,300 students by fall 2026. Rising student numbers have led to limited course availability and concerns about overcrowding, building congestion, and traffic around the campus, according to the division.

Beginning in the new school year and in subsequent years, Grade 9 students from the Kleefeld catchment area will attend Green Valley School, while students from New Bothwell will attend Niverville High School. Students from Blumenort will go to Landmark Collegiate, subject to enrollment capacity and overall interest, as a minimum number of 10 students is needed to support program delivery and bus scheduling.

Tree lighting kicks off Christmas season

The Bethesda Foundation Gifts of Light tree lighting event kicked off the Christmas season on Sunday in front of Bethesda Regional Health Centre.

The annual tradition once again featured caroling, horse drawn wagon rides, visits with Santa and fireworks.

Board chair Chris Goertzen began by thanking contributors to the event and to their various projects.

“Our community and health care is better in Steinbach because of many people,” he said.

Area athletes recognized by MHSAA

Two of the recent Manitoba High School Athletic Associations athletes of the week came from the region, as Springfield Collegiate and Morris School volleyball players were honoured.

Zach Hamblin was recognized Nov. 19. The Mavericks won the Zone 4 championship this year, with Hamblin playing a key role.

“Zach is a dynamic volleyball player and a key contributor for the Morris Mavericks. He is a tremendous attacker, blocker, and passer,” a release reads

“He leads the team offensively and can be counted on to get a kill in key situations.”

Manitoba creates mandatory Holocaust curriculum for schools

Manitoba has made learning about the Holocaust a mandatory part of education in classrooms.

The provincial education department announced the decision on Nov. 1o that Grades 6, 9 and 11 will all be taught about the Jewish genocide.

Nazi Germany systematically killed six million Jews and others across Europe during the Holocaust from 1941 to 1945.

Including the Holocaust as part of required teaching in Manitoba has been a 50-year push, said Belle Jarniewski, executive director for the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada.

COLUMN: Carillon Flashback April 12, 1957 – Ste Anne welcomes gas pipeline crew

Chamber of Commerce president Robert Arbez, welcomes Majestic Contractors to the village of Ste Anne, where the company has set up an operations’ base on the Ste Anne Legion grounds, before beginning to lay 85 miles of pipe for Trans-Canada Pipeline.

“We know the task ahead will be difficult and will demand a great deal of your time and effort, yet at the same time, we hope that you will not be so busy that we cannot get to know you personally. The doors of Ste Anne are open to you and we sincerely hope your stay will be pleasant through the months ahead.”

A soft southern drawl has invaded the quiet village, along with more than $2 million worth of pipe-laying equipment. The Majestic pipe-laying company is one of the many companies working on one of the most ambitious projects in North America. The $280 million Trans-Canada Pipeline, following a 2,250-mile route through four provinces, will carry natural gas all the way from Alberta to Montreal.

Majestic has the responsibility of laying 85 miles of 30-inch pipeline between the Red River and the Ontario boundary. Key personnel moved into Ste. Anne late in 1956 and soon machinery began to arrive, a radio tower was set up and trailers appeared overnight.

SPORTS FLASHBACK 1980: American teams no match for Steinbach Millers in Utah

The Steinbach U18 Millers had been scoring one-sided victories in the first two months of the 1979-80 season and their trip to Salt Lake City, Utah in December proved to be no different.

With the exception of the first game against the host team, which Steinbach won by a single goal, teams from Salt Lake, Phoenix, Arizona and Aspen, Colorado provided little opposition for the Millers on their way to a six-game winning streak. The Millers completed the tournament undefeated, outscoring the opposition 59-10 in six games.

The only disappointment for the trip was that teams expected from Calgary and Sweden were unable to attend the Salt Lake City tournament.

Millers coach Randy Penner said he was disappointed his team had not faced stronger opposition at the tournament, but thought the trip had been a worthwhile experience for the boys.

AS I SEE IT COLUMN: ‘Too late’ MJHL thoughts and predictions

I know it might come off as disingenuous, but I saw the Niverville Nighthawks season coming.

There were two predictions I made before the start of this Manitoba Junior Hockey League Season that I considered outside common knowledge.

That the Niverville Nighthawks were the best team in the league and that the Winnipeg Blues would be competitive for a playoff spot.

While the Blues have certainly taken a step forward, it’s not quite as big a leap as I had hoped. But the Nighthawks have certainly made me look smart to anyone I told those two predictions to before the start of the year.

Former South Sudanese refugee shares inspiring story with South Eastman Rotary

Rebecca Atet Deng was just 12 years old in 1987 when she was brutally taken by rebels during the Second Sudanese Civil War. She was playing with her younger sister when the rebels came and took her and 26,000 other children from their homes and marched them in a three-month trek through difficult terrain and random attacks by government forces. Many children didn’t make it and for those that did, what awaited them was a harsh life consisting of malnourishment, disease, and uncertainty. They became known as The Lost Boys and Girls of Sudan.

“My life was beautiful. Amazing life playing at home, happy kid and then suddenly (I was taken),” she told the crowd at the South Eastman Rotary Club gala on Nov. 19 where she was keynote speaker.

Deng came from the City of Bor in what is now South Sudan. Her father was the chief of police who was involved in politics and her mother was a nurse working in a hospital. When the Second Sudanese Civil War broke out in 1983, her father was captured and held prisoner in Bor, where he remained until a peace treaty was signed in 2005.

In 1984, following her father’s imprisonment, Deng, her mother, and her four siblings went to the nearby village of Duk. In 1987, her mother died leaving her and her siblings to be looked after by their grandmother. It was during this time that Deng was taken by rebel forces after the leader of the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army Movement gave the order to zone commanders to move young people aged 10 to 15 to Ethiopia. While the order was to take boys, in two towns girls were taken as well.

COLUMN: Art and Culture – Message from the executive director

As we approach the holiday season, we want to acknowledge the community that makes the Steinbach Arts Council’s work possible. Your participation — showing up to classes, supporting local artists, attending concerts and events - encouraging creativity in general - is what allows us to contribute to the quality of life in the Southeast. This has been one of our most active and encouraging years yet, thanks to the way our region continues to engage with the arts.

What we’ve seen this year

Participation continues to grow across every area of our programming. Theatre class registrations are at record numbers, our multi-disciplinary art classes are full, and dance in the region is gaining momentum with the return of our dance festival this spring. Teens and adults are also asking for more opportunities to build their skills, showing how strongly the arts are valued throughout the Southeast.

This momentum reflects the commitment of our team and the way the community responds to their work. It’s one of the reasons we were named a finalist for the Chamber of Commerce Non-Profit of the Year Award — recognition of the role arts and culture continue to play in strengthening quality of life in our region.

MJHL trade market heating up

The region’s two Manitoba Junior Hockey League teams are tweaking their rosters, as the annual Canadian junior hockey roster freeze is just over a month away.

The Niverville Nighthawks, in the middle of an undefeated month of November, added 2006-born forward Renat Nahnieiev. Nahnieiev is a Ukrainian International, joining Canadian minor hockey ranks in the 2022/2023 season. After graduating high school, he spent a year with the Winnipeg Blues, before moving to Weyburn of the Saskatchewan junior league at the start of this season.

Niverville sent a player development fee to Weyburn in exchange for the 2006-born forward.

Nahnieiev’s 24 points across 37 games played was good enough to put him third on the Blues for points per game in the 2024/2025 season.

Orchestra plays in sold-out Steinbach show

The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra played to a packed house for the Dec. 2 Holiday Tour concert.