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Alexander Koski of Dauphin will be spending just more than three years behind bars.

On Thursday, Koski was sentenced to 1136 days, which equates to just more than three years and one month.

In October of 2022, Dauphin RCMP was called to a report of a break-and-enter at Parkview Lodge, where a fire was discovered, and it was deemed a case of arson. Koski was the man behind it. 

A local artist has been working to make the Parkland Crossing indoor playground a place that shines with more color and cultural heritage. 

With the help of the South Parkland Healthy Child Coalition, Patrick Paul is painting a massive mural in the unique Woodland Art style.

"South Parkland Healthy Child Coalition worked hard to make it happen the way I wanted to see it done for the community, and for Asnishinabe people and First Nations people. I've put certain cultural aspects in here which was really important for me and my art form. Woodland Art is based off of star stories and legends and the culture of Ojibwe people. To include all that in this building was just phenomenal for me."

Paul is proud to contribute to the renovations in the facility. He's also glad his art can work towards reconciling with the history behind Parkland Crossing.

"Because of the history of this building, I wanted to make it really important that this was a statement piece just for the children that went through the suffering of residential school traumas" 

The indoor playground at Parkland Crossing is closed all week as the new cabinets were installed Monday , new fridge...

Posted by South Parkland Healthy Child Coalition on Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Parkland Crossing is seeing a few other renovations aside from the mural, including a new fridge, new cabinets, and a few other improvements.

Paul says he hopes his work here will not only be reminiscent of the children of the past, but an inspiration for the children of today, and the future.

The warmer weather is here and that means ticks are as well and that's bad news for everyone including your pet.

Animals are extremely susceptible to ticks and are often an easy target for a tick. Roxane Plett from the Dauphin & Ste Rose Vet Clinic says she has been noticing that ticks are even worse this year than they have been in past years.

"We absolutely do experience a lot of ticks on animals, it's a reality for pet owners and pets themselves," said Dr. Roxane Plett. "They are definitely out and about."

After that next walk or even during it, you should be checking your animal. You can never check them too much but it is recommended that you check at least once or twice per day.

If you do spot a tick on your animal it's always best to remain calm while taking the tick off.

"When you're pulling off ticks you need to grab it as close to the skin as possible and pull it off," said Plett. "Don't traumatize the tick otherwise you may actually cause them to transmit disease. Gently pull them off and I usually put them into a jar of alcohol and that kills them. After that, wash your hands thoroughly just to make sure no diseases are spread."

Plett says the biggest worry is the 'deer tick'. They are very small and you will usually see them in the brush and they transmit Lyme Disease. 

"Most commonly you should check your pet's ears, armpit area and around their head."

If you are planning on going out for a walk, you can prepare and make sure you're ahead of the game.

"We have some great products that work for up to 12 weeks that will help to prevent ticks," added Plett. "The best bet is to stop in at the clinic and we will gladly help you pick the best product for your pet, we'll get you covered."

Warm Weather:

While ticks are a definite worry, so is the hot weather for animals. Temperatures are expected to rise as hot as plus 36 on Monday and into the 30s over the weekend. That means if it's too hot for us to be outside, it's also too hot for your animal to be outside.

"If you have them outside, they need access to shade and lots of fresh water to drink," said Plett. "It's also best to avoid the heat of the day walks and if you have a little pool for them, that would be good as well."

You also should not leave your furry friend in a vehicle when it's that hot.

"Vehicles heat up so incredibly fast," said Plett. "It can cause heat exhaustion and it could kill them."

It appears the weather will warm up a bit this weekend.

Environment Canada has issued heat warning for parts of southern Manitoba including the Ste. Rose - McCreary - Alonsa - Gladstone region and Brandon - Neepawa - Carberry - Treherne.

The weather agency says a hot and humid air mass will come to Manitoba over the next few days. Daytime highs are expected to reach the low thirties and overnight temperatures will only cool down to the low twenties.

The warm weather should ease off early next week. Check the public weather alerts map to see all the heat warnings currently in place.

After over a year of negotiations, 6,500 Health Care workers could resort to more drastic action.

Manitoba's Association of Health Care Professionals (MAHCP) issued a strike deadline, effective June 15th at 8 AM after years of the union's requests being ignored.

Allied healthcare workers have been without a collective agreement for over 5 years, and it came to mediation 6 weeks ago after 99% of MAHCP members voted in favor of striking.

STRIKE NOTICE // After five (and six) years without a contract, through a pandemic, over one year of bargaining, and six...

Posted by Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals - MAHCP on Thursday, June 1, 2023

The wages of more than 6500 healthcare professionals have been frozen since 2017, and MAHCP says that in that time, the cost of living has increased by 20%.

This strike could affect a wide range of medical practitioners, from rural emergency responders to lab techs, councillours, and more than 40 specialized professions.

For our previous coverage on this ongoing issue, visit our previous article on the strike mandate vote.

Unionized Admin and Adjustors at Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation(MASC) have voted strongly in favour of a strike mandate.

MASC workers are represented by the Manitoba Government and General Employees Union(MGEU), and president Kyle Ross says while striking is the last option, it's something that might have to happen.

"We just want to bargain a fair deal, we're not seeing offers. Last year alone, inflation was over eight percent, and we're being offered less than that for the total of the four-year deal. It's just not something that's fair to our workers and fair to the people that support these farmers."

Ross says there's a lot of work that needs to be done to get to a place where it's fair for everyone. The workers have been without a deal since 2019.

Ross says updates on the MASC union's situation will be posted to the MGEU website, and he also encourages farmers to talk to their adjustors about the situation.

CancerCare Manitoba has received the single largest donation to a healthcare organization in the province’s history.

16 months after first finding out about the gift, Patti Smith, CancerCare Manitoba Foundation president, was on hand Wednesday as the foundation received a donation of $27 million dollars. The money comes from the Paul Albrechtsen Foundation.

Albrechtsen immigrated to Canada from Denmark in 1954 with just $50 to his name and he settled in Virden, where he established Paul’s Hauling Ltd., which at the time was a one-truck transportation operation that hauled salt water and oil for the petroleum industry. It has since grown to where it is today with branches in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Ontario. 

Smith says the donation is life-changing and it will provide those who suffer from cancer more hope moving forward.

“I saw a lot of tears on Wednesday, this is a massive gift,” said Smith. “I can hardly imagine what it must feel like to invest money in something like this that can make such a big difference immediately."

Smith also said she was overwhelmed and after keeping the secret for 16 months, she is very pleased that the big news is now public.

Of the $27 million donated, $17 million of which will be going towards the refurbishment of the research lab facilities on the fifth, sixth, and seventh floors of the CancerCare Manitoba Research Institute, which will be renamed the Paul Albrechtsen Research Institute. 

"The facility is more than 20 years old and standards have changed," said Smith. 

$4 million is for a suite of single-cell technology machines that will allow for different analysis of how cells are reacting and interacting with each other in a tumour. $2.5 million will go towards genomics and $3.5 million will go towards the building of the Paul Albrechtsen Centre for Hope at the Western Manitoba Cancer Centre in Brandon. 

“This money really allows us to propel cancer research forward,” offered Smith. 

The Paul Albrechtsen Foundation in the past also donated $13.4 million to the Health Sciences Centre Foundation and $7 million to the St. Boniface Hospital Foundation, as well as another $8 million to the Reh-Fit Centre. The Canadian Museum for Human Rights was also the recipient of $1.5 million.

The Virden RCMP is investigating a fatal hit and run that happened yesterday in Sioux Valley Dakota Nation.

Police got a report of a deceased male found on Cemetery Road in the community around 9:15 am. Officers attended the scene and found signs that the victim had been hit by a vehicle.

The investigation found that the victim was a 21-year-old male from Sioux Valley Dakota Nation. Police say he'd been walking with friends when he split off from the group to head down Cemetery Road.

Early this morning, officers seized a vehicle in the community believed to be involved in the collision and the examination of the vehicle is ongoing.

The RCMP Forensic Collision Reconstructionist and the RCMP Criminal Collision Investigative Team are assisting with the investigation.

Update:

A group of 5th-grade students from St. John's-Ravenscourt School was taking a tour of Fort Gibraltar when the raised bridge they were crossing broke beneath their feet.

A total of 28 people were assessed for injuries and 16 children and one adult were taken to hospital. 

3 students were taken to hospital in unstable conditions, one of which will be monitored throughout the night. The remaining students will be discharged from the hospital over the rest of the day.

Reports say the worst of the injuries were broken bones and none of them were considered life-threatening in nature.

 

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16 children and one adult were injured in a serious fall from a raised platform at Fort Gibraltar in Winnipeg.

At 9:55 am on Wednesday, emergency services received a call about a school group that had fallen 15-20 feet. inside the fort.

Out of the group of children, ranging from ages 10-11, 3 of them were taken to the hospital in unstable conditions, and the rest remained in a stable state.

There's been no other word on the extent of the injuries, or what school group was involved.

This story will be updated today after 2 pm, as a news conference will unveil more details.

The Neepawa RCMP is investigating a utility terrain vehicle (UTV) rollover that took the life of a 12-year-old girl.

On May 1st, police responded to a report of a UTV rollover on Road 76 West, approximately 400 meters south of the Road 83 North intersection. When officers got to the scene, they found three females who had been ejected from the vehicle.

The investigation determined that the vehicle had slid into the ditch before rolling several times. None of the occupants were wearing seatbelts or helmets at the time of the crash.

The driver and one passenger, who were both 14 years old, were transported to the hospital with serious injuries. The other passenger, a 12-year-old, was transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Four days later, on May 5th, she succumbed to her injuries.

The investigation is continuing with the assistance of a RCMP Forensic Collision Reconstructionist.

One of the suspects in a 2021 robbery in the RM of Alonsa has been sentenced to nearly 7 years in prison.

On August 9th, 2021, the Ste. Rose RCMP received a report of an armed robbery at a business on Highway 50. Police reported that three men wearing masks robbed the store with firearms, and stole an undisclosed amount of money and cigarettes.

The suspect vehicle was found on Sandy Bay First Nation, and after a traffic stop in the community, all three suspects were arrested.

One of the suspects, Francis Beaulieu, was sentenced to 2524 days in prison earlier this week, after receiving credit for time served.