With construction well underway on Main Street Niverville and Fifth Avenue South, it’s beginning to look a lot like any given summer day on the streets of Winnipeg. Street construction has a way of disrupting the daily flow of life, so we need to keep reminding ourselves that it’s also a sign of progress.

A distinctive feature of older rural neighbourhoods is the shared well. Though wells may soon become a thing of the past here, unless you live in a newer development you are likely still connected to one.

Île-des-Chênes may look like a sleepy bedroom community from the outside, but from within, there are clear indications of a vibrant, thriving mini-tropolis. Tall and proud, an imposing structure stands sentinel over the village of about 1,250 (according to the 2011 census): the TransCanada Centre (TCC).

Niverville’s town council recently introduced a rate hike for water utility customers in The Highlands and Fifth Avenue Estates. It’s the first rate hike these developments have seen since 2010. In past years, rates have climbed proportionately to the growth and improvement in water quality.

The Niverville Nighthawks got back in the win column on Saturday night with a big 3–2 road victory over the Neepawa Titans. With the victory, the Nighthawks stay in third place in the MJHL’s East Division with a record of 4–1–1.

Two volunteer committees in Niverville, the Remembrance Day committee and the Communities in Bloom committee, joined forces this past spring to make some key and much-needed improvements to the cenotaph located in the cemetery on Main Street.

As I reflect on the community of Niverville, I am so aware of the contributions made by the many people who have come to us from elsewhere. George and Deanna Sawatzky are one such couple.

Earlier this year, Wes Guenette from Niverville entered Bigway’s Fresh Rewards contest, the grand prize of which was a grocery shopping spree. The contest ran across all Bigway franchises, and this year a winner was selected from every town with a Bigway store. A few weeks ago, Guenette got a call with the good news: he had won!

On June 21, a tour of Niverville’s Heritage Life Personal Care Home (PCH) was conducted for visiting Pastor Timothy Zheng (pronounced Chung) and his family, who travelled from China to learn more about seniors care in community-owned, non-profit facilities like ours. Zheng is an area pastor of about 80 congregations. His church has recently been granted a decommissioned school which they are renovating into a care facility for seniors.

The five-classroom expansion of the Niverville Elementary School is busily underway on Main Street Niverville, although the addition will not be complete in time for the start of the school year, Hanover School Division superintendent Randy Dueck says.