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UPDATE (Oct. 21st, 4:55 p.m.): The boil water advisory in the western portion of Brandon has been lifted.
Update contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
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A boil water advisory is in effect for a large portion of Brandon after the city's water treatment plant lost power, causing a loss in water pressure. Power has since been returned to the plant, but the boil water advisory is still in effect.
Anyone south of the Assiniboine River to Richmond and west of 18th Street is under the advisory. Any water used for consumption should be brought to a rolling boil for at least a minute before use.
The full boil water advisory can be found here.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
The Dauphin Co-op announced Tuesday that they are donating $6,150 to The Bridge Youth Drop-in Centre in Ochre River.
The money was raised on Co-op's Fuel Good Day with 10 cents per litre of fuel sold being donated to the drop-in centre.
Kelly Moroz, the manager of the Main St. Co-op Gas Bar, says that she would like to thank the community for all of their support.
"Everyone took the time to come in that day and they either supported the barbecues or... [got] gas. We had lots of help with the volunteers coming in and it was just great... It's nice to be able to support The Bridge in Ochre River," she adds.
Moroz went on to say that the barbecues were very well attended.
"It was great to see the lineup at the barbecues at both stations. It was wonderful. A lot of people came in and we had signs up advertising for the barbecues," she adds.
Donna DeVries, the co-chair of The Bridge Youth Drop-in Centre, says that the money raised will be going towards the maintenance of their building.
"It is an older church and we are needing some new windows and insolation," she adds.
DeVries says that she's thankful that Co-op decided to choose The Bridge as the organization benefitting from this year's Fuel Good Day.
Furthermore, Co-op Week events are going on until Friday.
Marketing & Community Relations Manager Joan Chetyrbok says that Co-op Week is an opportunity to celebrate why Co-op is a different kind of business.
"We're 100% member-owned and... everyone's membership matters," she adds.
Chetyrbok says that they are serving free coffee and doughnuts to everyone, regardless of membership status, at the Home & Building Centres as well as at the Ste. Rose Agro Centre on Thursday and at the Dauphin Agro Centre on Friday.
"We have a fundraiser barbecue at Ste. Rose Home Centre on Thursday from 11 to 1:30 for the Air Cadets," she adds.
More information on Co-op Week can be found on their website.
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- Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
Agriculture in the Classroom - Manitoba (AITC-M) has named Katharine Cherewyk as their new Executive Director.
Cherewyk has been with AITC-M since 2018 when she was hired as the Program Manager, before taking over the role of Operations and Development Manager within her first year. Cherewyk says she had the opportunity to work closely with former Executive Director Sue Clayton during her time with AITC-M.
"Sue and I worked very closely together, we played off each other's strengths quite well, we were a great team. I definitely miss her, but I know that we're continuing to work with each other as she's at the University of Manitoba."
Cherewyk says she's been working in agriculture since graduating with a degree in Agroecology from the University of Manitoba, before doing her masters in entomology from the faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences.
"That kind of sent me down a few different pathways that allowed me to work with indigenous communities across the country, and this ultimately directed me into co-owning a fundraising company in Winnipeg. What's amazing about all of these experiences that I've had is that they didn't seem connected at the time, but they've ended up being so valuable to me in this role. I've spent many days out in the field as the assistant to the potato specialist at the time in Carmen. Then I spent time with indigenous communities working on environmental issues, and I've had on-the-ground experience working in fundraising."
Cherewyk says that through all of these experiences, working with AITC-M has always been a dream of hers.
"It was always a dream to kind of work with Agriculture in the classroom when I was in my undergrad, so it seems to sort have prepared me for this role as Executive Director."
Cherewyk says that there is so much great work going on within AITC-M right now.
"With younger students, we're really trying to build general awareness about agriculture, and we do that through classroom gardens. They're super popular with teachers, and it's often the first time that students have an experience getting their hands dirty. So we like to curriculum and then to agriculture, to show kids how food is grown."
Agriculture in the Classroom - Manitoba has numerous resources for both teachers and students of all ages on its website.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
Health Canada has made a mass recall of over 1.5 million hair products due to the detection of benzene, which is known to cause cancer.
The recall includes certain Bed Head TIGI, Dove, and Tresemmé Dry Shampoo products that are packaged in aerosol cans. A full list of the recalled products can be found on Health Canada's website.
Health Canada says to immediately stop using the products and dispose of them in accordance with the instructions on the packaging. Consumers can contact the company regarding refunds.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
UPDATE: The Portage la Prairie RCMP has arrested Jesse Myles St. Paul who was wanted for the Robbery and Kidnapping that took place in the RM of Westlake-Gladstone earlier this month. There has been no update given about the other suspects.
Update contributed by Sam Brownell
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Original Article Below: Posted at 3:31 p.m. on October 12th
Portage la Prairie RCMP are asking for the public's help in locating a 29-year-old man involved in a robbery and kidnapping that occurred on October 1st.
Jesse Myles St. Paul of Portage la Prairie, who's also known to frequent Ebb and Flow First Nation, is wanted for robbery with a firearm, pointing a firearm, possession of a firearm knowing its possession is unauthorized, and possession of a firearm while prohibited.
He is described as 6’0”, 180 lbs with black hair and brown eyes.
The RCMP say that he is known to be violent and that people should not approach him if seen.
The investigation is ongoing and police continue to work on identifying the other suspects involved.
Anyone with information on St. Paul's whereabouts or any other information related to this incident is being asked to call Portage la Prairie RCMP at 204-857-8767, Manitoba Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477, or submit a secure tip online.
They can also text "TIPMAN" along with a message to CRIMES (274637).
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- Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
UPDATE (Oct. 20th, 11:15 a.m.): According to the R.M. of Dauphin, Road 153 has been reopened.
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The R.M. of Dauphin is warning residents that Road 153 is currently closed between Roads 105 West and 106 West.
They say that a "thru Grade Culvert Install" is the main reason behind the closure.
They also say that residences are accessible from the west.
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- Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
The Dauphin RCMP received a report Sunday morning that a suspicious vehicle had entered a property in Ochre River.
The vehicle stopped in front of a machine shop and was seen leaving the property shortly after getting there. Police say the vehicle's believed to have stopped by the property earlier that same morning and may have been involved in other thefts in the area.
Officers patrolled the area along highway 20 and spotted the vehicle heading west on Road 147N, northwest of Dauphin Beach. The vehicle refused to pull over for police, so another officer set up a spike belt, which was successful in stopping it.
The suspects were arrested and a search of the vehicle suspects led to the recovery of stolen property (pictured below) as well as a small number of drugs believed to be cocaine (pictures above). The vehicle had been stolen from Arborg.
Police arrested 26-year-old Sabrina Bjornson and 25-year-old Joseph Contois, both from Riverton. The pair were remanded into custody on several charges including Flight from Police, Dangerous Operation of a Motor Vehicle, Possession of Property Obtained by Crime, and Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking. An investigation is underway.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
Darrell Inkster is aiming for a seat on the R.M. of Dauphin Council as he runs in the municipal election.
Inkster has lived in the R.M. for 62 years.
He believes that people should vote for him because he's a savvy individual who knows construction inside and out.
"I know... how to build roads, how to fix roads, [and] all the groundwork involved in maintaining [them]. I'm a problem solver. I can fix anything... I'm a pretty experienced guy in lots of different things," he adds.
Inkster says that he's running for council because people around him encouraged him to do so.
"I have time to do it now that I'm semi-retired and I just thought that I would give it a try. I've [run] before in the past, years ago, and just thought I'd try again," he adds.
If elected, Darrell Inkster plans to focus on local issues like keeping roads well-maintained and dealing with ratepayers in a more respectful way.
"I've heard lots of people complain that the current councillors and administration as a whole [do] not listen to the people when they have issues and I definitely would work at changing that," he adds.
Inkster says that although he hasn't experienced any crime issues himself, people in the R.M. have been talking about it.
"I don't really think there's much we can do [at the R.M. level] as far as crime reduction [goes]. You can't force the RCMP to do something and that's where it has to come from. I mean, we could make recommendations to them, but whether they would act on anything or not, who knows? It's something to look at for sure," he adds.
Inkster went on to that his main priority would be to listen to what the population has to say.
"I've been through some things in my past with various councils and reeves here and one thing I remember from adverse reactions within the council is that a lot of them, once they get in there, they get a very... [ugly] attitude and think that they don't have to listen to people... With me that would never happen," he adds.
A complete list of candidates running for office in the City and R.M. of Dauphin can be found here.
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- Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
While the position of Mayor for the Municipality of Ste. Rose has been acclaimed by incumbent Robert Brunel, there is still a race for the four council spots, with seven candidates on the ballot.
Last night, the Parkland Chamber of Commerce held a Municipal Election Forum in Ste. Rose, to give the candidates an opportunity to answer questions submitted by the public. Five of the seven council candidates made it to the event, with Ivan Worrall, Shari Shankaruk, Noel Labelle, Steven Hopfner, and Joey Frobisher in attendance.
The questions focused on a variety of topics including the growth and maintenance of recreational activities and facilities in the community, attracting employees to the community, and keeping youth engaged in community activities.
One topic that came up on multiple occasions was attracting healthcare workers and retaining the ones that are already in the community. Candidates talked about recruitment, incentivizing students to go into the industry and return to the community once they've completed school, and the potential for a healthcare aid program as a part of the grade 12 curriculum.
The forum was live-streamed to the Parkland Chamber of Commerce Facebook Page, and the full video is available here.
The candidates for council are:
- Darrel Deslauriers
- Joey Frobisher
- Steven Hopfner (Incumbent)
- Robert Killam
- Noel Labelle (Incumbent)
- Shari Shankaruk (Incumbent)
- Ivan Worrall (Incumbent)
Voting on October 26th will take place at the Ste. Rose Community Hall from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
Unidentified human remains were found Monday after a home was engulfed in flames in the community of Birch River.
It started at 4:40 p.m. with Swan River RCMP responding to a report of a structure fire at a residence located on Lorne Ave.
Once the fire was brought under control and extinguished, firefighters entered the home and found unidentified human remains.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Swan River RCMP, along with Major Crime Services, RCMP Forensic Identification Services and the Office of the Fire Commissioner, continue to investigate.
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- Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
The RM of Lakeshore Municipal Election Forum was held by the Parkland Chamber of Commerce last night. There are three people vying for the position of reeve in the election, and six people running for three council seats in each of the two wards.
At the Forum, Clayton Watts was the only Reeve candidate in attendance. Malcolm Scott and Ernie Smadella were the council candidates in attendance for Ward 1, and Nathan Hulley, Michael Brunen, Clayton Foster, and Jean Geisel were the council candidates for Ward 2 at the event.
Questions from the public covered topics like political transparency, recreation, growth, indigenous relations, and infrastructure. When given the opportunity to bring their own topics to the forefront, candidates all touched on the poor quality of roads throughout the RM, and access to gravel.
The election forum was streamed to the Parkland Chamber of Commerce Facebook page and can be viewed here.
Reeve Candidates:
- Clayton Watts
- Bryan Preston
- Jeff Konowalchuk
Council Candidates in Ward 1:
- Malcolm Scott
- Richard Kachur (Incumbent)
- Shanna Cowal
- Ernie Smadella (Incumbent)
- Caudy Ray
- Fred Schurko
Council Candidates for Ward 2:
- Michael R. Brunen Sr. (Incumbent)
- Nathan Hulley
- Clayton Foster
- Gavin Thompson (Incumbent)
- Jean Geisel (Incumbent)
- Brianna Williams
Each ward also has its own voting location which will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on October 26th. Residents in Ward 1 will vote at the Lawrence Community Centre, 800 1st Street S, Rorketon. Residents in Ward 2 will vote at Ochre River Community Hall, 401 Mann Street, Ochre River.
The Parkland Chamber of Commerce is hosting a Municipal Election Forum for the Municipality of Ste. Rose tonight at the Community Centre at 7 p.m.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
