James Bezan, who was first elected as a member of parliament in 2004, won his Selkirk-Interlake-Eastman seat once again in the federal election on Sept. 20.
Bezan earns landslide victory
Bombers earn victory over Eskimos
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers winning ways continued as they earned a victory over the hometown Edmonton Eskimos at Commonwealth Stadium on Sept. 18.
Musicians provide live entertainment in St. Andrews
Live music returned to St. Andrews as the St. Andrews Rectory was the backdrop for an event dubbed Porch Performance.
Johannson getting the vote out
Selkirk mayor Larry Johannson is encouraging local residents to get out and cast their ballot on election day as Canadian residents go to the polls on in the federal election on Sept. 20.
Premier Invests the 2019 Winnipeg Blue Bombers Into the Order of The Buffalo Hunt
At a ceremony at IG Field on Sept. 14, Premier Kelvin Goertzen invested the Grey Cup-winning 2019 Winnipeg Blue Bombers into the Order of the Buffalo Hunt.
“The Winnipeg Blue Bombers players and staff represented their club, the city and the province with pride, and today I am proud to honour the team members and staff by investing them into the prestigious Order of the Buffalo Hunt,” said Goertzen. “The Bombers broke what was the longest-active CFL Grey Cup drought and that achievement deserves to be recognized and celebrated. On behalf of all members of the Manitoba legislature and all Manitobans, it is my great pleasure to pay tribute to Manitoba’s hometown team, which serves as a strong reminder of the value of sport as a vehicle to bring us together and enrich our communities.”
On Nov. 24, 2019, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers won the Canadian Football League’s (CFL) 107th Grey Cup in Calgary, Alta., by a score of 33 to 12 against the Hamilton Tiger Cats. This was the club’s first Grey Cup victory since 1990.
Winnipegger Andrew Harris won both the 2019 Grey Cup most valuable player (MVP) Award and the Canadian MVP award. The 2019 team was led by head coach Mike O’Shea, general manager Kyle Walters, and president and CEO Wade Miller, with Dayna Spiring serving as board chair.
Manitoba’s Order of the Buffalo Hunt was established in 1957. The honour is bestowed by the province on individuals and groups who demonstrate outstanding skills in the areas of leadership, service and community commitment. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers were awarded the Order of the Buffalo Hunt in 1957, 1984 and 1988 for Grey Cup (or Western Interprovincial Football Union) victories. Most recently, the province invested the Canadian Olympic women’s curling team (Team Jennifer Jones) in 2014 and Team Manitoba medal winners from the 2017 Canada Summer Games.
This summer, Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s chief provincial public health officer on behalf of Manitoba’s public health team, and Linette Siragusa, Manitoba’s chief nursing officer on behalf of front-line health-care providers, were bestowed with the award in recognition of their efforts to save lives and protect Manitobans during the COVID-19 pandemic. As well, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and the citizens of North Dakota were recognized for their goodwill, ingenuity and support to vaccinate Manitoba essential workers – the first such program between a Canadian and American jurisdiction.
The Lord’s Prayer
It was on September 6, 1997, together with an estimated audience of 2.5 billion others, that I watched the funeral of Princess Diana from Westminster Abbey, London, England. A four mile procession with over a million people lining the route of the funeral cortege had brought her coffin to the church.At that time, the most heart wrenching part to me was watching her two sons, William and Harry, walking behind the coffin, while on top of it was a card to “Mummy” from one of them.
The service itself was moving: her sister’s poems, her brother’s eulogy, Elton John playing “Candle in the Wind” and the archbishop’s prayer. But most of all, I was fascinated as I watched people praying the Lord’s prayer (in whatever language, all around the world).
Like many of you, I memorized that prayer in public school as a Grade 1 student and said it every school day of my life till I graduated from high school. Today, however, as we all know, that prayer no longer is said in public schools, though private schools still can and often do. And so also, in our church we say it every Sunday morning.
The scripture tells us that the disciples of Jesus came to Him and asked Him to teach them to pray: “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” So He gave them, in 66 words, a model for what our praying is to be like: “Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen.”
It takes less than a minute to say it and is probably the best known passage of scripture in the world, having been repeated by countless numbers of human beings for 20 centuries. So, I thought it would be helpful to look at it in more detail (In the weeks to follow, I intend to look at each specific phrase of that prayer and what it means to us.)
While we can and do recite it, as I said before, I believe that Jesus intended it more as a “model”: a suggestion of the various facets that talking to God should include. Richard Love suggests these are the things we are really to be thinking as we are saying it:
“Our Father”: “We belong to Your family.”
“Which art in Heaven”: “You see things from a better vantage point.”
“Hallowed be Thy name”: “Extend Your reputation.”
“Thy kingdom come”: “Build Your kingdom.”
“Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven”: “Do what You want done.”
“Give us this day our daily bread”: “Meet our needs daily.”
“And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”: “Clean our slate.”
“And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil”: “Direct our lives.”
“For Thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen”: “It’s all about You, God.”
May I encourage you to make this prayer a daily habit in your life and may those thoughts fill your mind as you say it.
Henry Ozirney was the founding pastor of New Life Church in Stonewall, where he served from 1970 until he retired in 2014. He is currently Interim Pastor at New Life Church in Teulon, Manitoba. He can be reached at henryoz@mts.net or 204-461-1105.
Facing The Inevitable
One of the stark realities of life here on earth is that it doesn’t last forever. It’s temporary. In the Bible the Psalmist wrote, “I am here on earth for just a little while.” He also commented, “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered, and that my life is fleeing away.”
This really hit home to me after my mom was diagnosed with esophagial cancer some time ago. She and dad then sold their house in Stony Mountain and moved into Lions Manor here in Stonewall. One day, I went over to the Manor for a visit and we got talking about the delicious perogies Mom used to make. Mom said, “We still have a bag of perogies frozen in the deep freezer” (she and dad used to make up batches of perogies from time to time and freeze them for later use.) So, Dad and I went to the deep freezer and I reached in and got it out. As we were walking back into the kitchen, realizing that he and mom would likely never again make perogies together, he said in a plaintive voice, “Everything comes to an end…”
That statement hit me like a ton of bricks. It made me realize nothing here on earth lasts forever. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away…” Elsewhere, the Bible says, “The world and its desires pass away…”
When you’re young, you think life is forever, it will NEVER end. But as you age, you gradually begin to realize that life not only has a a beginning point but also a termination point. I think of some of the people I grew up with. First, there was Raymond. During the summer after Grade 11, Raymond accidentally shot himself in the throat while climbing through a fence while hunting on his dad’s farm. I was pall bearer at his funeral. I remember the incredible impact that made on my life when he died, his life terminated at such a youthful age.
Second, there was Danny. I used to envy him from Grade 1 on wards. Everything he was, I wasn’t: athletic, good looking (girls crowded around him even as they ignored me..) We used to play “spin the bottle” at school with the girls and when the bottle pointed to you, the girls either had to kiss you or give you a dime. I played spin the bottle a lot and by the time I was 12, I owned my own home.
Danny didn’t have a mother who insisted he wear a toque to school in the wintertime like mine did. I had this Elvis hairstyle with a duck tail and toques wrecked the beauty of it. My mother had the audacity on days when it was -40 to insist I wear a toque. Being the obedient son I was, I wore that toque, until I turned the corner out of her sight…
But Danny’s mother didn’t insist he wore a toque. He had the privilege of coming to school on those bitterly, bitterly cold mornings with the tops of his ears frozen white. I didn’t have that experience. Danny had all of these advantages. I always envied him.
Then, a couple of years ago, I went home back to Saskatchewan and stopped in at Letwicky’s Auto Parts in Canora. One of my high school buddies worked there and he said, “Henry, did you hear the news? Danny Secundiak died last nite of a massive heart attack.” I couldn’t believe it. Danny, #1 in school, was now dead. Gone.
The Bible says life here on earth is fleeting, like the grass and flowers which wither and fade.
Since that is the case, it only makes sense in my opinion to prepare for the inevitable. How do you do that, you ask? Simply pray and invite Jesus to come into your heart, forgive you your sins and you will receive the gift of eternal life, so that when you die, you get to go to Heaven to be with God there forever and ever.
That seems to me to be to be the best way to face the inevitable.
Henry Ozirney was the founding pastor of New Life Church in Stonewall, where he served from 1970 until he retired in 2014. He is currently Interim Pastor at New Life Church in Teulon, Manitoba. He can be reached at henryoz@mts.net or 204-461-1105.
Bombers thrill hometown fans at annual Banjo Bowl
By Jim Bender
The Banjo Bowl featured a Winnipeg victory, a brawl, ejections, a hat trick, explosive touchdowns and a sold-out crowd of 33,134 fully-vaccinated fans at IG Field on Saturday.
Blue Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros completed 18 of 23 passes for 278 yards and two touchdowns to lead Winnipeg to a 33-9 trouncing of the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Winnipeg swept the Riders to move atop the Canadian Football League West with an impressive 5-1 record.
“I’m just really happy for the organization and for our fans,” Collaros said. “I know Labour Day and the Banjo Bowl are very important to the CFL, to this organization and to our fans, ultimately, and we feel that as players. We know that. We take it one game at a time, obviously, but it means a little bit more to win both of these.”
Collaros completed a 39-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Darvin Adams and 40-yard TD toss to slotback Kenny Lawler to salt the game away in the fourth quarter.
Backup QB Sean McGuire scored three one-yard touchdowns.
“I thought Canada was a hockey country,” Collaros joked. “Like, how did everybody not throw their hats on the field. The hat-trick, you know?”
The Bombers defence held Saskatchewan to three first-half field goals by Brett Lauther and did not allow a single point in the second half for the second straight game.
“Hey, man, 33,000, we gave them exactly what they wanted,” said Winnipeg defensive end Willie Jefferson. “They wanted smoke; we gave them smoke. We gave them action. Come on down to Winnipeg. This is what we want to do. We want to entertain our fans and if our fans could come out and give us the noise that we need on defence, and special teams, and pump up our offence when we need it, we need that. Keep on bringing that.”
Saskatchewan quarterback Cody Fajardo suffered “a mild concussion” when Jefferson sacked him midway through the quarter and had to leave the game. He was replaced by Isaac Harker.
A melee also broke out in the second quarter. The Bombers taken a 12-9 lead on McGuire’s second touchdown late in the first half. That’s when a brawl erupted. Punches were thrown, players piled on each other and flags filled the end zone.As a result, Saskatchewan defensive lineman Garrett Marino and defensive back A.J. Hendy were ejected from the game. No Bomber was ejected.
“They came out hot, they came out wanting to throw a punch, but it was a brawl,” Jefferson said. “They threw a punch, we were gonna punch back. We’re not letting them knock us out in the first half. We just tried to stay in there, make it a tough fight, make it close going into halftime and, like I’ve said before, we’re a second-half team. When we come out of the second half, we were able to go up and do what we needed to do.”
Linebacker Adam Bighill was not surprised.
“You know the history of these Prairie teams,” he said. “They’ve been at it for a long time, long before we’ve been here. It’s just keeping the tradition alive, really. A game like this, blood boils hot and at the end of the day, sometimes it spills over. We’ve got to make sure we’re smart and on the right side of it, and it looks like we were today.”
Saskatchewan head coach Craig Dickenson was surprised no Bomber was ejected.
“It wasn’t good news when they (officials) told me that two of our guys got tossed and I asked how many of theirs and they said none,” he said. “They said punches were thrown, so I assume that our guys did it.”
But Dickenson credited the Bombers for their play this season.
“Winnipeg is the class of the league right now,” Dickenson added. “I think they are better than the rest of us and I think it’s by quite a bit.”
The Bombers will next play the Elks in Edmonton on Saturday.
Golfing in memory of Bobby Jefferson
After a year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic the Bobby Jefferson Memorial Golf Tournament returned to the Selkirk Golf & Country Club on Sept. 9.
Bombers ready to host Riders at Banjo Bowl
By Jim Bender
The reigning heavyweight champs of the Canadian Football League know that the Saskatchewan Roughriders will be seeking revenge for their first loss of the season when they enter the IG Field ring this Saturday afternoon.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers out-punched the Riders 23-8 in the Labour Day Classic at Mosaic Stadium in Regina on Sept. 5.
“It felt like a street fight,” Bombers centre Michael Couture said during a Zoom interview on Wednesday. “In that environment, it’s always intense with not being able to hear the guy beside you, knowing how physical they are, and also understanding that we bring that physicality as well. So, right from the beginning of the game, it was intense.”
The Grey Cup champions moved into sole possession of first place in the CFL West at 4-1 with the victory while Saskatchewan fell to 3-1. Now, Winnipeg will get a chance to put a stranglehold on top spot when play host to the Riders in the annual Banjo Bowl rivalry contest.
“You talk about the energy of Mosaic and it gets you little more up for the game and I just think that’s inevitable,” said Bombers receiver Drew Wolitarsky. “When you’re coming into that battle and that energy’s around and both teams are fighting that hard, you have to meet that or you will fall, right? So, I would say a street fight is a great way to put it, or any boxing match, and now, we’re about to go back into the ring with someone that you just beat up four days ago. That’s an intense fight, man, and that’s really rare in sports in any form of fighting. It’s going to be intense, man, and it always is with this team.”
Bombers defensive back Brandon Alexander, who was named a CFL Top Performer of the Week after making two key interceptions, is wary of the prairie rivals after the Bombers dominated them.
“We know that they’re gonna come out with more fire and they’ll have a couple more adjustments from what they saw before,” said Alexander, who also had four defensive and one special teams tackle. “It’s hard to beat any team twice, especially back-to-back. You saw that earlier this season with Toronto. You saw what happened there, so we can’t let another thing like that happen again. We’ve got to make sure that we’re on our stuff and make sure that we have the same energy that we’ve been having for our first games.
“We knew they were gonna be physical, it’s that type of game and we know that it’s gonna be another physical game this week.”
Wolitarsky, who made a highlight-reel catch to set up a touchdown, believes that the Riders will be angry about losing last week’s bout.
“As a professional, you’ve got to be mad about that, so we’re ready to fight again, man,” he added.
HASHMARKS: The Bombers announced that the Banjo Bowl is a sellout and the gates will be open at 1:30 p.m. for the 3 p.m. start. The pre-game tailgate area will also open for the first time this season at noon and will feature $5 Coors beers and $3 hot dogs and fountain drinks until kickoff … Bombers head coach Michael O’Shea expressed confidence in rookie placekicker Marc Liegghio after he went one-for-three in field goals last week, saying that he is working on last week’s “blips.” The Bombers, however, did add import placekicker Ali Mourtada to the roster but he is still in quarantine.
