Rural Roundup for Sept. 22

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/09/2022 (1355 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

RUSSELL

Keira Davlut, the 2022 Champion Child for sick and injured kids in Manitoba, was in Russell at the end of August to host a barbecue and bake sale in support of the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba. About 90 people showed up to the event that Davlut hosted with her parents, Melanie and Derek Davlut.

When Keira was born, her parents noticed that her right eye seemed smaller and her head seemed a bit “bulgy.” At Keira’s two-week checkup, her pediatrician ordered an MRI and X-ray that revealed craniosynostosis, a condition where the sutures in the skull fuse too quickly. Craniosynostosis happens in one in every 2,000 births. Without surgery, it can cause vision loss, facial disfiguration and developmental problems due to the skull putting pressure on the growing brain.

Keira had her first surgery at just nine months old, opening her skull and placing re-absorbable plates to relieve pressure and help her skull naturally fuse back together as she grows. Because her skull has continued to change as she gets older, Keira has had more surgeries and will continue to see specialists like dentists, speech language pathologists, opthamologists and plastic surgeons.

Now 11 years old, Keira loves playing the piano, performing in musical theatre, playing Roblox online with school friends and doing anything she can to support the foundation. She has spent the last year doing interviews on television and radio, and made in-person appearances all over the province to bring awareness of what donations do to help the 130,000 children across Manitoba that access the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg. Many people are not aware of how the donations help to buy specialized surgical tools, provide programs for children who are staying in the hospital and fund research for childhood illnesses.

For a look at Keira’s journey, visit goodbear.ca/champions/keira.

» The Russell Banner

ROBLIN

At a crop demonstration for the Parklands Crop Diversity Foundation in Roblin, Jeff Kostuik of Verve Seed Solutions pulled apart a hemp stem to demonstrate its fibrous, woody core, called a hurd.

“This is the strong part, the super absorbent middle part of the plant. This was actually a byproduct seven years ago, but it’s what’s driving the fibre market right now,” he said.

Hurd is used to make “hempcrete” for the construction industry. It’s a biocomposite material that is similar to concrete, made from a hydrated lime binder mixed with processed hemp hurd fibre. The process called decortication starts by separating the hurd in the centre of the hemp plant from the bark on the outside. The crop is laid on the ground and microbes come in and eat the pectin and lignin that hold the fibres together. Then the crop is run through a hammer mill. After that, the fibre and lime are mixed and pressed into hard blocks, which can be stacked to make something similar to a cinder block wall. The material may also be mixed with less moisture to become fibrous fluff that can be sprayed into a frame, similar to plaster.

Hempcrete is becoming a popular building material in the southern United States, where it is used to build low-income housing, leading to a greater demand for hemp fibres from producers.

In Manitoba, hemp is good for fibre but not for grain because of equipment issues — cutting with a sickle mower or a disc bine could work, however, if it’s properly adjusted. Kostuik added that hemp should be treated like an oilseed in the rotation.

» Manitoba Co-operator

FOXWARREN

Over the past few months, Foxwarren has been home to a 30-acre flag field, seeded half with flax and half with canola, to represent the colours in the Ukrainian flag.

The flag field project was an intiative by Scott and Lesia Falloon in response to the desolation of Ukrainian soil after Russia invaded the country in February.

For 32 years, they have farmed together on Scott’s grandfather’s original homestead just west of Foxwarren. They are classified as pedigree and commercial grain/oilseed producers, concentrating mostly on wheat, canola and peas.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, it deeply affected the Falloons.

“We made the comment, ‘We cannot do nothing when we can do something,’ and it was with this in mind that the idea of the flag field came [about],” the Falloons said.

They decided to produce a crop, harvest and sell it with 100 per cent of the proceeds going to Ukraine’s relief efforts.

“Leisa’s grandparents immigrated from Ukraine, that is our personal connection,” Scott said. “We wanted to help in any way we could.”

Besides the Falloons’ contribution, businesses across the region donated all the seed, fertilizer, herbicide and fuel for the project.

» Crossroads This Week

ASESSIPPI PROVINCIAL PARK

A recent investment announcement of $1.1 million in funding from the Provincial Parks Endowment Fund has brought support to park development across the province, and Asessippi Provincial Park will benefit by receiving upgrades to its yurt accommodations.

Jeff Wharton, provincial minister of environment, climate and parks, said the Manitoba government was excited to announce the funding.

“Through the Provincial Parks Endowment Fund, our government is ensuring that funds are available in perpetuity for important projects to help preserve public parks for future generations,” Wharton said.

» Crossroads This Week

NEEPAWA

Jodie Byram, who has served as the aide and constituency assistant for Agassiz MLA Eileen Clarke, has announced her plans to seek the Progressive Conservative Party’s nomination in the riding.

If successful, Byram would be the party candidate in the next provincial election, set to take place in October of next year. That election would decide who officially replaces Clarke as the MLA for Agassiz, as she announced last month that she would not seek re-election. Clarke will remain and serve out the rest of her term until next year.

Byram is the first individual to announce their intentions to seek the nomination and has already hit the campaign trail running. In a social media statement made on Sept. 4, she stated she intends on running a campaign focused on improving the lives of people within the region and providing them a voice in provincial politics.

“I was born and raised in rural Manitoba. From spending my early years growing up on a farm to raising my children, I have learned the values of hard work, dedication and commitment. These are the same values that the people of Agassiz share, and it is why I am eager to represent them in the Manitoba Legislative Assembly,” Byram said. “I know the importance of having a strong voice for rural Manitoba, and I am that voice for Agassiz. I am a team player who will go above and beyond to get the job done. I am compassionate, understanding and prepared to listen.”

The PC Party of Manitoba has yet to finalize the details for a nomination meeting. Despite the uncertainty surrounding the schedule, Byram encourages people to contact her if they want to support her candidacy.

» Neepawa Banner & Press

NEEPAWA

A recent visitor to the Margaret Laurence Home in Neepawa has brought new attention to the impact the Neepawa-born author made during her time abroad.

Cabdi Jaamac, originally from Somaliland, Africa, came all the way from Briston, England, where he currently resides, to visit Laurence’s childhood home. Jaamac is a huge fan of Laurence’s literature; so much so, that he hopes to one day build a library in Somaliland named after the author.

Margaret Laurence Home board members Brenda Ferguson and Blair Chapman took Jaamac and a couple of his friends from Winnipeg on a tour of the historic site.

“At least three years ago, [Jamaac] reached out to us and [told us] he was planning a trip the following year, and the following year happened to be when COVID hit,” Ferguson said.

Laurence spent about seven years in Africa, two in Somaliland and five more in Ghana, then known as the Gold Coast.

“Her first books were not about Manawaka [the fictional town she based on Neepawa]. They were about Ghana and Somaliland,” Chapman said. “Very early on in the conversation, [Jamaac] said to me that within a very short time, he and others felt she just captured some essential qualities of life there.”

Ferguson said that Jamaac told her that, when the author first went to Africa, she wasn’t well received because she was a white woman.

“But she immersed herself in the culture and became well loved by the community,” Ferguson said.

One of Jamaac’s travel companions, Mohamed Robleh, grew up in the community in which Laurence lived.

Jamaac left about a dozen items at the Margaret Laurence Home made in Somaliland that are used for day-to-day life in that country, including a hand-carved wooden bucket used for milking livestock, animal hide shoes and a multi-use wooden staff.

» Neepawa Banner & Press

GLADSTONE

Sveinna Bjarnarson, a 14-year-old from Gladstone, is attending the Royal Agricultural Fair in Toronto on Nov. 5, as a representative of 4-H Manitoba. While there, Bjarnarson will also compete in the 2022 edition of the Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture competition.

A 4-H member for eight years, Bjarnarson has been primarily associated with the Neepawa 4-H Beef Club. She also spent a year with the Gladstone Handiworkers, in addition to her regular 4-H activities. This will be Bjarnarson’s first time competing at the national level.

“It’ll be a really exciting opportunity and a great experience,” Bjarnarson said, “and it will be a great networking opportunity, though perhaps there are a few nerves as well.”

In addition to her upcoming showcase at the speaking competition, Bjarnarson has shown other projects, such as a cow-calf pair, yearling heifer, progeny steer, market steer and a progeny heifer. She’s also held a variety of positions with local 4-H clubs.

“Some of the roles I’ve been in were as secretary, club reporter and scrap booker,” Bjarnarson said. “I’ve also done club, area and zones as well as provincial communications, too.”

Bjarnarson always donates 10 per cent of her steer sales back to local organizations.

» Neepawa Banner & Press