Holland, Glenboro residents speak up

Between now and the Aug. 26 Spruce Woods byelection, the Sun will talk with people in communities around the riding on what’s important to them and the area.

HOLLAND — Better roads and more efficient health care continue to be the main concerns residents have in Spruce Woods.

On Tuesday, the Sun spoke to residents in Holland and Glenboro, who had many of the same opinions of people in other parts of the riding, like Rivers, Souris and Brandon’s North Hill.

“What’s important is (highways) 2 and 5, that they fix that corner so that there’s no accidents,” said Kelly Wilson, owner of the Glenboro Bake Shop. “Because there’s been a couple fatalities, there’s quite a few accidents there. At least one or two a year.”

Wilson, 42, said the intersection just northeast of Glenboro, which was recently repaved, needs to have something added to slow traffic down.

“Semis go through town on the highway doing a-buck-twenty, they don’t slow down,” he said. “And people don’t look when they’re crossing the intersection.”

He said signs or lights should be added to the intersection to make it safer.

“I’ve contacted the province, department of highways, they said they’ll look into it. Nothing’s happened. So, it means they’re not doing their job. It means they’re slacking.”

Tara Wilson, who owns the shop along with her husband, said when she used to work at the hospital, people would often quit because they’re “overworked, underpaid and mistreated.”

“There’s not enough staff for the hospital, and they just can’t keep up because people are getting sick of the long hours,” she said.

She said the province needs to give an incentive for people to do the job, and needs to stop hiring agency staff, who cost more than employees.

Another resident agreed, saying money spent on agency nurses could be better used elsewhere.

Prairie Mountain Health spent $45.8 million on agency nurses between January 2023 and October 2024.

Melanie Christison, 33, said the money could be better used elsewhere, like in schooling for non-agency nurses.

Christison, who works in Holland and lives in Glenboro, also said response times in the event of an emergency are alarmingly high.

“It’s amazing we have STARS because we would never be able to have as many lives saved if we took that away, with all the ambulance departments that have been taken away,” she said while walking in Holland Tuesday afternoon.

“Usually if you’re in an incident or an accident where you need 911, you need it now.”

Christison also said more needs to be done to protect school teachers, who are having to put up with more than ever. Teachers don’t have the same rights they once did, and now have a “pretty shitty job” all things considered, she added.

Preet Gajjar, 21, tied health care and roads together, saying without good roads, ambulances just can’t get to their destination as fast.

Gajjar, who lives in Holland and works at The Hollander Motor Hotel, said the community has a large senior population, and they can’t always afford the extra time an ambulance might take in an emergency.

“The vehicles cannot reach the (posted) amount of speed if the roads are improper and not properly grounded up,” he said while working at the restaurant.

Another resident who lives just outside of Holland along Highway 34, said the state of the highway is “pothole city” and desperately needs a full repair, instead of just patchwork.

“It just keeps crumbling because they have big trucks that come, potato trucks, up and down all the time, they’re wrecking the roads,” said Jo-Ann Verniest. “They’re not being fixed, they’re being slapped. They’re putting a band-aid on.”

The highway was voted the worst road in Manitoba in May in CAA Manitoba’s 10 worst roads list this year.

The RM of Victoria now boasts bumper stickers at its office in Holland, poking fun at the egregious state of the highway. The stickers in blue and yellow read “I’m not drunk, I’m just used to dodging potholes on Hwy 34” and “I survived Highway 34 from Pilot Mound to Austin.”

“Swan Lake to Holland used to be like ‘good luck,’” Verniest said. “Your struts and your undercarriage would be wrecked.”

She said it has gotten slightly better lately, but once potato trucks start rolling out again, it will be back to what it was.

Verniest also said the government should proide more funding to municipal governments and local libraries, which are always struggling because of a lack of money.

She said libraries are an important part of communities, and should be funded accordingly.

» alambert@brandonsun.com