Reynolds School Doors May Close By Marianne Curtis
Rescued Horses Given Hope and Kindness
Despite a mandate by the province to not close the doors on any more rural schools, the Reynolds Community School in Prawda could see its doors closed in the future. Reynolds Community School’s days may be numbered after it made the list with a projected enrolment of only 4.5 full time students in September in Kindergarten to Grade 6. In the late 1900’s, the school had a population of 84 students. While the province’s mandate has been to not close schools, last year, the Department of Education said it was prepared to start closing small schools if the local community and school divisions believe they are no longer viable. Sunrise School Division Superintendent Wayne Leckie says they have not officially discussed closing the
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Steinbach Anti-Bullying Activist Recognized with Substantial Scholarship
with people problems! Rehabilitate, re-teach, re-home!” “We believe in using a natural approach and working within the horse’s comfort zone, at their pace,” Pattyn explained. “We use a lot of desensitizing methods and believe that desensitization is an essential part of training your horse. We base our methods around the horse’s needs, abilities and temperament.” “My husband, daughter and I moved to our first acreage in August 2010. In that first year we brought home a gelding my
On May 27, a grade 12 student from the Steinbach Regional Secondary School was rewarded for his very public activism with a $70,000 scholarship. For the majority of his high school career, Evan Wiens fought for gay student rights and fighting against bullying. Last year he was at the centre of a heated controversy about promoting a gay-straight alliance at the Steinbach Regional Secondary. Wiens bravely spoke up publicly in support of the alliance despite the outrage of hundreds of others speaking against the province’s Bill-18. Many felt the province was pushing the Alliance by specifically naming the group in the Bill when it was under consideration. He eventually won that battle, and now he’s been awarded the TD Community Leadership Scholarship, worth up to $70,000 in post-secondary tuition and living expenses. “I’m really thankful to TD for selecting me as one of 20 recipients out of over 3,500 that had applied... [the money] will definitely take a load off for sure,” Wiens said. In the fall Wiens plans to study political science at the University of Winnipeg and is considering transferring to either a Vancouver-based university or Montreal’s McGill in his second year.
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Kim Lyons Pattyn works on revitalizing a horse’s spirit as part of assessing the re-homing capability of a rescued horse before it is available for adoption.
By Marianne Curtis In recent years, awareness has increased about rescue animals, specifically cats and dogs. There are over forty rescue organizations across Manitoba who dedicates their lives to rescuing and re-homing pets. There are less media attentions on rescue organizations that focus on larger animals, including horses. Owned by Kim Lyons Pattyn and her daughter Jody Miller, Black Bird Ranch’s motto is, “We help horses