Winkler Times
583 Main Street R6W 1A4 Winkler, MB, Canada

It's with sadness that I announce that the Winkler Times will be discontinued permanently after May 7. It has been such an honour to get to know you and share your stories in the brief time that I was given. I'm so sorry that it can't continue. This newspaper has a long and colourful history! I'm planning to make the last edition a farewell piece, filled with photos and memories. Does anyone have some special photos from the Times that they could share with me? Any historical... clippings or photos of the original staff. Images from past events? Whatever you feel would resonate with Winkler Times readers would be so awesome! Please share them on this post or send to the Winkler Times inbox. You can also email them to [email protected] Provide a brief description if you can. This paper will be missed by many. Thanks to all our readers, contributors, and businesses who kept this community paper thriving through the years! Thanks so much for being the great community that you are, and all the life moments and milestones you've shared with us. It's been a wonderful journey! Lori Penner

Hi again from the Winkler Times! I was hoping to get some photos of kids learning from home! If anyone has any pics they would be willing to share of home learning - this could be kids in front of screens, or doing hands on projects, poring over textbooks and worksheets at the kitchen table - whatever you've been up to, I'm interested in! I'd love to share your home learning journey with people in the community!... Please send me your photos! The last round you sent me were so awesome... I'm still using many of them! You can send them via Messenger on my Lori Penner Facebook page, or email them to [email protected] Please indicate which community you are from, since I'm making the same request for the Morden Times! Forgot to add... if you guys want to share their names and a short description, that would be great too! Thanks again for sharing so freely! You guys are truly awesome!

COVID-19 BULLETIN #50 Public health officials advise four new cases of COVID-19 have been identified as of 9:30 a.m., bringing the total number of lab-confirmed positive and probable positive cases in Manitoba to 246. ...Continue reading

We all know them. The five stages of grief - denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. They're part of a process that makes up learning to live wit...hout the one we lost. But grief also applies to other losses: Our jobs, our daily routines, rituals and plans, relationships, hopes and dreams...our way of life. I'm normally an upbeat person, and indeed, I feel a real duty to spread cheer and optimism during this incredibly bizarre time we're living in. All that good stuff that comes with being either blessed or cursed with this Pollyanna Complex - I have to fix everything and everyone all the time. And by all counts, I'm one of the lucky ones - so far. And I dare not say this with any note of complacency or pride. As yet, I have not been sick, and neither have any of my loved ones. I haven't lost anyone due to this virus. At this point, I can still do my job from home. I have more than enough food in my fridge. I have a roof over my head. Trust me, I know I'm doing much, much better than millions of others right now. I am humbled and grateful. So what right do I have to grieve? None, I suppose. And yet, I do. (At this point, I'm going to bitch shamelessly. Please forgive me.) I grieve when I see photos and videos of my grandchildren, knowing it will likely be months before I can wrap my arms around them. Bury my nose in their soft little necks. Chase them around the house. I'll watch the baby learn to crawl on Facebook. No Easter egg hunt this year. I grieve hanging out with the kids who live away - no more big suppers, game nights, lively conversations around my kitchen counter. (At this point, if you tell me there's always video chats, I will scream in large, BOLD, capitalized letters.) I grieve spending time with people in person. I crave it more than I crave chocolate right now. And that is saying a lot. I even grieve the crowds in the grocery stores, running into dozens of people I know. That "what the heck am I gonna make for supper?" comradery) I miss the friendly smiles, instead of the guarded stares (She's smiling at me - dear God, don't let her come closer to talk!). And I hate those damn arrows on the floor, as necessary as I know they are. The smell of sanitizer makes me nauseous. But the biggest thing I grieve is that delightful feeling of taking things so blissfully for granted. I miss assuming that there will family gatherings, wiener roasts, backyard barbecues, picnics at the park, beach days, and festivals and carnivals this summer. Chats in the church foyer. Meeting friends for coffee. Grabbing a book at the library. I miss seeing groups of people walking past my house, or teenagers hanging out, and not feeling all judgey about how close they're standing together. I miss assuming that all the "normal" things will be there waiting for me. That I can take a trip to BC to see my sons. That my sisters and I can connect at the cottage. That I'll be able to leave my house without feeling like I'm breaking the law. So, yes, I'm at the anger stage today. I'm angry at this invisible crazy monster that can run amuck for a few months and destroy almost everything and everyone in its path. This weird ball-shaped thing covered in spikes, that looks like a plastic bath toy my kids used to play with. I know this is not the rhetoric I'm supposed to be spouting right now. I know I'm supposed to be saying things like: "This will all be over soon!" "Let's all flatten the curve!" "The more we follow the rules, the sooner this will end!". Let's take one for the team. We're all in this together! And for all you critics of this post, let me assure you, I'm not trying to incite a rebellion. I know all of this because I hear it and read it all day! We do need to be responsible right now. I KNOW THIS. Heck, I'll be posting those memes, too. Some of them will feature wildly out of character celebrities. Meant to make you smile while you follow the freaking rules. But I need to be honest. I don't feel all zippedy-do-da about life right now. Does complaining help? Nope. Especially when you don't know who to blame. I'm a woman of faith. I am an optimist. I am resilient. I've battled monsters before. I'll probably be my old smiley self again tomorrow. I've even spent a few days in the acceptance phase. But today, I'm angry.