Dawson Trail Dispatch
Celebrating Over 25 Years of Service to Our Communities!
Santa Rolls Out on Pre-Christmas Tour
December 2022
Municipalities Receive Funding to Mitigate Disasters By Dan Guetre
Ste. Anne Police cuffs the Grinch at the community event. He was released soon after and rumours have it that the Grinch and Santa were seen reconciling any differences. Photos Facebook / The Santa Stop
By Dan Guetre What do you do when your employees have everything under control weeks before the biggest day of your year? You hit the road and greet all your fans. Thom Doerksen AKA Santa is on his annual tour throughout southeast Manitoba on probably one of the most joyous gigs on the planet. Doerksen took on the roll two decades ago and has not looked back or regretted his decision. During Covid-19 restrictions, Doerksen could have parked the sleigh and hung up the
iconic red jacket but instead came up with a concept that has now taken on a life of its own… the Santa Stop Tour. It wasn’t an easy path as the ideas to salvage his passion evolved. “I was in touch with our local Health Inspector and was bouncing ideas off him and every answer was the same... ‘that would encourage gathering, therefore making you subject to fines.’ Continued on page 3...
The Province has approved 8 projects in the southeast that mitigate against future disasters under the 2022 Mitigation and Preparedness Program (MPP). “This innovative initiative, delivered through the Manitoba Emergency Measures Organization, offers an important opportunity for municipalities to build local resiliency against natural disasters, extreme weather events and the impacts of climate change,” said Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Doyle Piwniuk. First introduced in 2020, the MPP opens when a disaster financial assistance (DFA) program is established for a natural disaster and the cost of the DFA program is sufficient to be eligible for federal cost-sharing arrangements. The majority of municipalities with a claim under the 2022 Spring Flood DFA program also applied for MPP project funding, which enables municipalities to invest municipal DFA deductibles into an approved mitigation or preparedness project. The municipalities to receive funding are Municipality of Emerson-Franklin up to a maximum of $20,629.21 for sewer lift station generators for Dominion City and Emerson; RM of Ritchot up to a maximum of $63,225.09 for a reserve fund; RM of La Broquerie up to a maximum of $56,927.13 for an emergency generator; RM of Piney up to a maximum of $15,601.00 for road improvements to raise Road 81E south of Sprague; Village of St-Pierre-Jolys up to a maximum of $11,046.83 for the third phase of the northwest storm sewer upgrades; RM of Hanover up to a maximum of $145,733.44 for water pumps; RM of De Salaberry up to a maximum of $33,165.87 for a reserve fund; RM of Ste. Anne up to a maximum of $47,268.56 for a drainage project with the Seine Rat Roseau Watershed District.