Hanover trustees pass motion to delegitimize mature minor designation

Trustees of the Hanover School Division have voted unanimously to move forward on creating a policy that would see parents exercising their control over their children’s health care and counselling in schools, even if they are mature minors.

During the school board meeting last week, trustee Cheryl Froese presented the motion to the board, where she stated a mature minor is like having a “cheeseless cheeseburger.”

“The words mature and minor go together about as well as a cheeseless cheeseburger in my mind,” Froese told the board.

“There is a privilege of being a minor. But to say that a minor can be mature enough to make health-care decisions, either physically or mentally, without a parent or legal guardian is absurd.”

Carillon Sports Second Shots: June 11th edition

Featuring photos from a lightning-cancelled Hanover Kickers game June 2, a Carillon Sultans Winnipeg Senior Baseball League game June 4, action from the MHSAA provincial soccer championships June 5/6 and an MJBL double-header June 7 between Carillon and St Boniface.

Transit plan delayed due to lack of city support

A lack of support by Steinbach city council has hurt advocates of Link Transit, who say fundraising and grant opportunities are being lost as a result.

Link Transit issued a press release highlighting the new logo for the proposed transit service for Steinbach, a result of a local contest.

The winning entry, designed by Vorobiov Roman, features the familiar Main Street clock tower with an image of a transit van.

But with a mission of providing reliable and affordable transit services to the residents of Steinbach, the organization said they’re missing the bus when it comes to grant opportunities due to city inaction.

Manitoba Trails Day marks Mennonite milestone at Niverville’s Hespeler Park

Ernie Braun can barely contain his excitement as he stands under the newly erected pergola located at the south entrance of Niverville’s Hespeler Park. Marking the Peace Trail waypoint of what was once the well-traveled Crow Wing Trail and the junction for several historically significant features, the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the interpretation kiosk attracted a noticeable crowd with several dignitaries on June 6.

Well ahead of the scheduled 11 a.m. opening ceremony, Braun set up the MC’s table for the head of the Manitoba Mennonite Historical Society, Ed Krahn, and garnished it with his own miniature Mennonite baby manger. The piece is hand made in the style and tradition of Mennonites who traveled the trail with just such stable-inspired furnishings, although today it swaddles programs and commemorative pens for the ceremony.

Manitoba’s annual Trails Day takes place on the first Saturday of June and helps celebrate the rich history of rural communities like Niverville, while also encouraging people to engage in the outdoors and practice active lifestyles.

This year’s Trail Day was notably special for the community of Niverville, and in particular for those who celebrate their Mennonite roots. The commissioning of the kiosk not only marks the historical significance of the Peace Trail but, as showcased through several information plaques mounted in the pergola, also denotes the history of the Mennonite people settling in this area.

Cody Gunderson back in Carillon black

After finishing his division one college career earlier this spring, Gunderson is back in Manitoba and playing for the Carillon Sultans once again. He didn’t play with the Sultans last season as he recovered from an injury.

During the first game of a double-header against St Boniface, Gunderson hammered the first pitch he saw for a single, then in his second at bat he took three consecutive balls before knocking a 3-0 strike over the fence, despite hitting it off the end of his bat.

“I got a fastball down the middle, I figured I should probably swing,” Gunderson said, laughing.

The St Malo product added throughout his time at Charlotte in the NCAA his coaches gave him the green light to swing on 3-0 counts, to great effect.

A delicious fundraiser for firefighting

It wasn’t the smell of smoke that attracted so much attention in Landmark on June 6, but rather the aroma of fresh coffee and cooking sausages that brought the public out to the local fire station.

“Nobody even notices the first batch of pancakes were a little overdone,” says Marie Marshall who is a regular attendee of the event and is kept busy trying to ration the syrup her three grandchildren, Liam, Nora and Lilly are drowning their breakfast in.

The annual event brings in around 900 supporters for the day and provides a terrific outing for everyone in the community, particularly the kids who get the chance to consume all the maple syrup they can handle while checking out the crew’s gear and even practice some “hose work” under the watchful eye of the station’s crew.

Sparky, the fire service’s mascot and bravely played on this already hot morning by firefighter Trevor Braun along with his assistant and “hydrater” Chris Biddulph, makes sure there are only wide eyes and smiles as people wait for their turn to get at the “high-flipped flap jacks.”

Commissioner Saurette reflects on historic MJHL season

The Manitoba Junior Hockey League boasted the best junior A hockey team in the country this season, as the Niverville Nighthawks were crowned Centennial Cup champions after winning the league.

After the traditional celebration with players swarming their goaltender, MJHL commissioner Kevin Saurette was on hand, proud as can be to help present the Nighthawks with their gold medals.

“They’ve conducted themselves on and off the ice very positively and it reflects very well on the MJHL,” Saurette said just before the start of the final game.

“We know we have a very strong league… We’ve sent six different champions to this event, every year they make the playoff rounds. It’s really nice to see Niverville get over that hump.”

Resin artist Tanya Penner ‘soars high’ with show at SAC gallery

When people around Steinbach hear the name Tanya Penner, they can be forgiven for picturing local aviation royalty rather than an upbeat popular artist when you mention her showing at the Steinbach Arts Council (SAC). Likewise, if taking advantage of the SAC gallery on 2nd Street featuring Tanya’s absorbing and glitteringly-colourful works, the patron can be forgiven for not thinking of the administration, detailed planning, and crisply linear scheduling which is the hallmark of Harv’s Air CEO.

The demands and skills required of the two seemingly opposing vocations might lead the observer to believe they couldn’t possibly co-exist in the same person, but like the magic of Penner’s art, they simply do and with fascinating results.

No one taking in the tactile and weighty canvasses of Penner’s resin artwork sees the same dreamscape or shares the same interpretation of the feature, but it is the power of that open conceptualization of colour and texture that invites the observer to create a personal interpretation of the art and thereby enjoy an emotional response.

“I want people to experience something when they look at my art. The warmth and joy of the golden layers that are the finishing touches; the depth of the ocean pieces with their texture; the weight and mystery of the silver and jaded blue crystals,” says Penner. They are each an open invitation to the observer to supply their own meaning, which makes the experience so powerful.

Contraband cigarettes seized by RCMP

Two men were arrested and more than $8 million in fines and tax penalties assessed after what police are calling “a significant contraband tobacco seizure.”

In a Tuesday press release, Falcon Beach RCMP stated they were called to the weigh station near West Hawk Lake by a Motor Carrier Enforcement officer.

Two males, a 40-year-old driver from Brooks, Alta. and 70-year-old co-driver from Toronto, Ont. were arrested for trafficking contraband tobacco.

In the semi-trailer officers seized 781 cases of contraband tobacco with each case containing 50 cartons.

SPORTS FLASHBACK 2006: Steinbach fans hang out with Grapes at Stanley Cup final in Carolina

Steinbach friends Mark Reimer and Matt Loewen embarked on a whirlwind cross-continent trip to Raleigh, North Carolina, having landed tickets to the deciding game of the 2006 Stanley Cup finals between the host Carolina Hurricanes and Edmonton Oilers.

Along the way, they hobnobbed with some of the biggest names in hockey, including Don Cherry, Ron MacLean and the NHL commissioner himself, Gary Bettman.

Reimer, 32, and Loewen, 24, are NHL junkies. But unfortunately, there is one big problem. There is no longer an NHL team in Winnipeg, as Reimer lamented in an interview with The Carillon, a few days after returning from their trip to North Carolina where they went for their latest ‘NHL fix’.

Reimer explained how the two hatched this idea to try and get to Game Seven of the Stanley Cup finals.

Hanover School Division superintendent, assistant superintendent leaving posts

Hanover School Division is seeing its superintendent and assistant superintendent leaving their positions by the end of the year.

The announcement that superintendent Joe Thiessen and assistant superintendent Leanne Peters are retiring was made during the last school board meeting.

Thiessen has submitted his resignation after two years on the job. He declined an interview with the media, but board chair Dallas Wiebe said the board is grateful for Thiessen’s leadership and they were surprised and saddened to see him go.

“Joe has a heart for Hanover. We’re going to miss him. And he’s been tremendous. His positive attitude from day one has been reflective on the principals and the staff. I think a lot of people are sorry to see him go. We love Joe,” said Wiebe, sharing that the board nicknamed Thiessen Joe Positive because of his positive attitude.