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The Crown finished presenting its case yesterday in the death of Garnet Baptiste from Ebb and Flow First Nation.
Raymond Bonser, Robert Laba and Regan Carlson are pleading not guilty to manslaughter.
Statements from Bonser and Laba were presented indicating that Baptiste began fighting with two of the accused, which led to the incident.
Bonser’s initial statement after the incident indicates he was sleeping, when Laba banged on the door saying Carlson was being attacked.
He then grabbed a lamp, but never hit Baptiste with it; instead he swung and missed, then hit the ground with it.
Carlson’s version of the story said they had drinks with Baptiste and went back to the room.
He said Baptiste tried to fight him and it looked like he went to reach for brass knuckles from his pocket.
Carlson said he was hit in the head multiple times before Laba and he were able to get out of the room where he then squared off against him.
He claimed that he was covered in blood from being struck and had the right to defend himself, so he punched Baptiste once and he hit the ground.
Carlson said that Bonsor and Laba came behind him and took over. Bonsor hit Baptiste in the chest with something while Laba stomped on his head.
Carlson said he felt disorientated when he went back to his room and called his mom. She instructed him to get a lawyer and medical attention.
The trial continues on Monday and the defence can call their witnesses to the stand.
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Everyone is anxiously awaiting the arrival of summer and the parks are no different.
Riding Mountain National Park has been busy getting ready for May long weekend.
Cal Martin, Acting Visitor Experience Manager, tells us there’ll be a change this year to get into the park.
“Well there’s a big change for this year, in that we’re starting to charge admission fees again, after last, being free all year long for Canada 150. However, we are not charging fees for people 17 and under, so youth and children have free entry into the park”
Group and family passes have been reduced by 20 per cent.
Also in preparations for the season, they’ll be continuing on with construction work to Highway 10 north of the park.
This is phase five of a major infrastructure project for the park to improve the condition of the highway and they’re already getting positive feedback from what has been done so far.
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Last Thursday night, a public meeting was held for the 2018 Gilbert Plains Municipality budget.
A first and second reading of the proposed budget was done.
Reeve, Blake Price, tells us what the mill rate looks like for urban and rural.
“The mill rate for 2018 will be equal mill rates for the rural and the urban. The difference between the urban and the rural will be a 3.5 mill rate, that’s a special service levy rate for the cost of the payments for the waste disposal site. So at the end of the day the urban mill rate will be 3.56 per cent higher than what it would be in the rural.
This year's mill rate is set at 19.5 before the levy, which is a 2.5 per cent decrease from last year.
Some of the capital expenditures being considered are the purchase of another gravel pit and a replacement shop for the public works one that caught fire earlier this year.
Recreation saw an increased contribution this year from the budget, however the new hall project wasn’t allocated any money from this year’s budget.
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The nomination period has opened for the position of Mayor for the City of Dauphin.
You have until September 18th to fill out a nomination package and bring it to City Hall.
Kirk Dawson, the Senior Election Official, suggests people should really know what they’d be getting into before they commit.
“It really is up to an individual choice. I think obviously it is a very serious decision. I think one would have to know all the ins and outs of what they would be getting into. So, it could be right away or we could be waiting until the later part of the campaign period.”
You have to be is above the age of 18 and a resident of Dauphin to run.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Fishing season opens tomorrow in southern Manitoba and on May 19 in remaining areas.
Fishing licences will be required and can be purchased at various vendors and at Manitoba Sustainable Development Offices.
Youth under the age of 16, who have lived in Manitoba for more than six months, won’t need a licence, but must accompany someone with one.
Indigenous harvesters are also exempt from needing a fishing licence.
Anglers are reminded to follow the catch limit and ensure their watercraft is free from aquatic invasive species.
Watercraft inspection stations will be set up this weekend at the Selkirk Park boat launch, Headingley weigh station and Eriksdale (PTH 6 at PTH 68E).
Another concern for fishing and camping season is the transporting of firewood out of Winnipeg. With the confirmed presence of the Emerald Ash Borer in the province, firewood can’t be moved out of the city. Fines for transporting firewood can go up to $1,300 for individuals and $15,000 for businesses.
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Some Winnipegosis Elementary School students helped cheer the Jets to victory.
Approximately 30 students in Grades One, Two, Five and Six, created their own Jets parody and went viral with it.
It wound up all over social media and on two television stations’ newscasts.
Brianne Cooper, a teacher at the school, tells us the kids’ reactions.
“They couldn’t believe it and then they started screaming, ‘I’m famous, I’m famous’. They were incredibly amazed and excited.”
The students are working on another song for the Jets’ third series against the Golden Knights.
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"Investigators determined that a 17 year old female driver traveling southbound on highway 362 lost control and rolled into the ditch. She was taken tothe hospital and treated for minor injuries."
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The RM of Alonsa, which is near Amaranth and Ebb and Flow First Nation, would like to remind their residents there’s still a fire ban in place.
Currently there’s investigations going on into incidents of burning, that took place after the ban was established.
Charges could be laid for those fires that would include the fine and the cost of fire department’s time and use of equipment.
The burning ban is in effect until further notice.
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An announcement to ban spotlight hunting was made by the Premier at a PC fundraiser.
The province hasn’t officially made an announcement supporting this, but introduced a bill on Monday called the Wildlife Amendment Act.
Last year Pallister’s views on this caused some uproar when he said the issue was becoming a race war.
This caused some Indigenous leaders to oppose the idea of a ban, but for there also has been some support for it.
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Make sure to check yourself for ticks when coming in from the great outdoors.
Undetected ticks can bite and infect you with one of three different types of disease, however they must already been carrying the disease.
Dr. Amy Frykoda, Medical Officer of Health, notes the one tick in Manitoba spreads disease.
“In Manitoba there are several species of ticks, but there is only one species of tick that is actually responsible for spreading tick-borne diseases, and that tick is commonly known as the Deer Tick or the Black-Legged Tick.”
The worst areas for Deer Ticks are forests or farm shelter belts. They like to be near wildlife in order to feed off of and the sustain shelter from the elements.
To minimize the risk, you can use a spray to repellent, wear long light coloured clothing and tuck your pant into your socks.
Currently there’s no vaccination for any tick-borne diseases.
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An 87-year old man died as a result of an ATV accident in Roblin, yesterday.
At 7:40 p.m., RCMP were called out to a report of an ATV collision.
They found him deceased underneath a tipped ATV on his property, where he had been checking cattle and riding alone when the accident occured.
He wasn’t wearing a helmet and alcohol isn’t considered a factor.
The RCMP is continuing their investigation.
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