With the growing population in Ritchot, a local mom has started a new playgroup in Île-des-Chênes with the hope of connecting more rural parents and communities.

On January 8 at 9:00 a.m., Ritchot council held their biweekly public meeting to address a variety of topics on the current agenda. One delegation was heard by council, presented by resident Robert Doiron.

First-time author Sabrina Falk is excited to announce the debut of her new adult fiction novel, Not Far from the Peach Tree. The story follows the life of 22-year-old Abigail Hartley, a young woman with not much going for her. When tragedy strikes the Hartley household, Abigail sets out, alongside her younger sister, to uncover the answers to years of family secrets that have just begun to surface.

Singer Joey Villanueva of Niverville has booked his ticket to the Pinoy Pop Star finals, to be held on March 2 at the McPhillips Street Casino in Winnipeg, with a strong performance this weekend at the event’s semi-finals. Pinoy Pop Star is an amateur singing competition for Filipino Manitobans held once every couple of years. The current season is the competition’s fourth outing.

Niverville Service to Seniors is kicking off the new year with a new fitness class called Chair Fit. The program, designed for people 55 or older, involves low-impact exercise that helps to maintain a healthy body and mind.

Josée Roy is making her mark in ringette and will represent Team Manitoba at the upcoming Canada Winter Games. The Games take place in Red Deer, Alberta from February 15–March 3 and will feature 19 sports over 150 events along with a major arts and cultural festival. It will draw up to 3,600 athletes, managers, and coaches and more than 20,000 visitors, according to the Games’ official site.

So many thoughtful details go into planning the perfect wedding day: the dress, the décor, the vows. But let’s face it, most of those things will only live on in the memories of the bride, the groom, and their entourage after everyone’s gone home. 

The word “crisis” is often used to refer to an extreme situation—for example, to describe conflicts that just fall short of being called wars. I suspect this is why we use it to refer to the current “meth crisis,” as the media has so recently done. There are other drugs involved in the crisis, but the focus has been on meth (methamphetamines) for a few reasons. Not only is it the new drug of choice in Manitoba, but it’s also one of the most dangerous due to its low cost, ease of transport and use, instantly addictive properties, and the unpredictable behaviour of those under its influence.

When wedding guests raise glasses to toast the happy couple, everyone wants what is in the glass to be pleasant. We also want the wines not to break the bank. Both can be achieved without much complexity or stress.

Less than two months into the gas tax holiday initiated by the provincial government, the NDP are already touting it as a big success.