PKF Lawyers, Manitoba’s law firm, delivers trustworthy, expert, real-world results. pkflawyers.com Winkler Morden THURSDAY, VOLUME 12 EDITION 25 JUNE 24, 2021 www.winklermordenvoice.ca VVLocally ownedoiceoice & operated - Dedicated to serving our communities Ready to serve PHOTO BY LORNE STELMACH/VOICE Local fi re departments have welcomed a new crop of fi refi ghters to the team. For the full story, see Pg. 3. news > sports > opinion > community > people > entertainment > events > classifi eds > careers > everything you need to know 2 The Winkler Morden Voice Thursday, June 24, 2021 Local docs answer your questions about the COVID vaccines By Ashleigh Viveiros Doctors Manitoba hosted an online town hall Monday night so Morden- Winkler area residents could get the facts about the COVID-19 vaccination from some familiar and trusted faces. Joining provincial vaccine lead and Winkler native Dr. Joss Reimer on the virtual stage were family doctors Dr. Don Klassen (Winkler), Dr. Kevin Convery (Morden), and Dr. Kathryn Martin (Morden). With retired local pastor John Klas- sen playing host, the doctors spent Doctors Manitoba kicked off its weeklong series of virtual town hall events Monday with one featuring over an hour fi elding questions about doctors from Morden-Winkler. the development and effi cacy of the once residents were able to get fully vaccines had been in use for years, one dose or less than two weeks after vaccines. vaccinated. “Why do we recommend giving scientists a head start of sorts. their second dose—the time it takes “I’m here tonight because I’ve had them? We recommend them because A great deal of collaboration around for the vaccine to take full effect. a lot of fears and concerns expressed they appear to be working and they the world and the funding and moti- Convery fi elded a question about to me from my patients and I’m just are keeping people out of hospital, vation to get it done quickly but safely the death rate in young people from hoping to provide some more infor- they are keeping people from getting also helped speed the process. COVID in comparison to the risks of mation to have people make informed severe illness.” “But the extra speed didn’t cut any the vaccine. decisions for themselves,” noted Mar- Asked whether the vaccines ap- corner in terms of safety,” Convery “We know, still, for young, healthy tin in her opening remarks—a senti- proved for use in Canada are consid- stressed, explaining the “emergency people the benefi ts of getting vac- ment echoed by the other doctors. ered experimental, Convery stressed use” orders simply helped cut down cinated outweigh the risks of getting Introductions done, Klassen was that they are not. on bureaucratic red tape. “They still COVID and developing a seriously asked to weigh in on how well the “They did complete all three stages had to meet all the safety require- complication from the illness,” he vaccines work and why doctors rec- of clinical trials, which vaccines have ments. And since they’ve been autho- said, noting recent waves of the pan- ommend them. to do,” he pointed out. “Now, this hap- rized for use there’s ongoing studies demic have seen an increasing num- “In a nutshell, the three vaccines pened quicker than it would for pre- [on their effi cacy and safety].” ber of young people getting severely that have been utilized in Manitoba vious vaccinations and there’s lots of Asked how many people contract ill. “Some young people have died have all been proven to be very effec- reasons for that ...” COVID-19 even after vaccination, from COVID ... and so the risk of a tive,” he responded, pointing as evi- Those reasons include the fact the Martin noted most of those cases have serious illness in a younger person is dence to the plummeting case counts mRNA technology used to create the been found to be in people with only low, but it’s not zero. in the province’s personal care homes “If you look at the benefi ts of the vaccination ... the vaccines have been shown to be exceedingly safe and they We design, manufacture, offer good protection from ... hospital- ization, serious illness, and death.” deliver and install Convery noted that there have been innovative windows and about 28 million doses of the vaccine administered in Canada thus far and custom exterior doors with only around 1,500 serious adverse re- actions. While blood clots have been style and function across reported with the AstraZeneca vac- cine, they’re still extremely rare, he North America. added. PROTECTING YOURSELF, We offer custom exterior and interior OTHERS doors, windows and pleated blinds. Getting vaccinated is about protect- ing yourself, your loved ones, and your community, Convery observed. Along those same lines, Reimer pointed out that when you’re dealing with a highly communicable virus like this, even one with a high rate of sur- vival for most people, that still trans- lates into a lot of people dying if steps are not taken to slow the spread. “So maybe you’re young and healthy, but you might have a grand- Contact us to request a quote or more information at parent around you or ... maybe some- 1-800-249-1216 one you spread it to can spread it to Or visit us at www.accesswd.ca someone else who experiences a re- 565 Cargill Road Winkler, MB Continued on page 7 The Winkler Morden Voice Thursday, June 24, 2021 3 Local fi re departments welcome new recruits By Lorne Stelmach “It’s a lot harder than it appears,” he said of the training process. “There’s a It’s been a long journey for the 2020 lot of information you have to learn. recruits to become members of their “That was the challenge, being able local fi re departments. to know what to do at the right time ... There have been pandemic related and we had good instructors.” PHOTO BY LORNE STELMACH/VOICE delays along the way, but the students It was also memorable when they A new crop of fi refi ghters is on the job this summer. They spent the also just had to push hard through had their fi rst opportunities to go out last several months learning through a mix of in-class sessions and about six months and over 1,000 hours on a number of different fi re calls. training exercises to earn their Level 1 certifi cation. of in-class and practical training to “The fi rst couple of times, your tivation to fi nally sign up. her reaction and how it affected my complete their fi refi ghter Level 1 pro- heart’s racing. You don’t know what “The thing that made me offi cially wife personally was one of the things gram. you’re expecting, and there’s also the take the leap was a house fi re on Ma- that really made me decide I want to The time and effort was all worth it adrenaline of being on the fi re truck,” son Crescent that affected a child- do this,” he explained. for Jordan Cameron, Zane Strydom, Strydom said. “That just gets every- hood friend of my wife, and seeing Continued on page 4 Jadynn Wolfe, Jeff Guenter and Ryan thing going.” Addison of Morden as well as Chad “It’s always something I wanted to Orchard of Miami, Rod Halabicki of do as a kid,” said Wolfe. SUMMER FOOTWEAR FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY! Darlingford, and Alex Damphousse “It’s been a lot of fun. Our classes of Letellier. were really good. We have a good **DOORCRASHER** “There’s a lot more that goes into it group of guys, and our instructors than you think to become a level one were really good,” he said in thinking fi refi ghter,” observed Strydom. back about the training. “The biggest “It’s a lot of work, a lot more work thing is it was defi nitely more chal- than people realize it’s going to be,” lenging than I expected it to be, but in said Guenter. “There’s a lot of study- a good way. ing ... it’s a volunteer profession, right, “First time inside a building with CSA TIGER WORKBOOTS but there’s a lot of schooling involved, live fi re would have been we had a SANDALS 25% Off a lot of work involved. burn outside of town with a house,” There were some commonalities noted Wolfe, who also recalled being $122.22 WESTERN WEAR among the recruits in terms of what on the scene of a Christmas eve house BOOTS & HATS attracted them to the role. fi re that claimed the lives of two Mor- BLUNDSTONES “It’s always just been something in denites. “We were on the sidelines the back of my mind ... then seeing watching and helping out ... that was the guys go out on calls and helping pretty eye-opening.” people was the biggest thing for me “I’ve contemplated it actually the ... and being able to help the commu- last two times they’ve had tryouts,” nity,” said Strydom. said Guenter, who had a personal mo- 25% Off with Flair Frieda Janz FREE CORDLESS 20% Interior Decorator / UPGRADE ON GRABER Window Covering ROLLER, PLEATED AND BIKER JACKETS Off Specialist CELLULAR BLINDS CHAPS & GLOVES YOUR WORK & WESTERN WEARHOUSE (/523 Monday to Friday 9:30 am to 5:30 pm Free Blind Consultations! 7).+,%2 -"s0H Saturday 9:30am to 4:00 pm Service & Selection Guaranteed +IMBERLY2D %ASTOF#ANADIAN4IRE Shoe Repair dwfl[email protected] 204-362-8202 Company charges welcome (must be arranged ahead of time) GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE HOURS OF OPERATION: Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 5:30 pm Saturday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm SHOP AND NEW ITEMS GOING DONATE OUT DAILY 324 CARGILL ROAD, WINKLER 4 The Winkler Morden Voice Thursday, June 24, 2021 gives you at least a glimpse of what these guys are out in the community.