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Rural Cell phone coverage is a priority for the provincial NDP in the New Year.

NDP leader Wab Kinew says one of the big issues he’s been interested in lately is cell phone affordability and service for Manitobans.

“One of the priorities for me as the leader of the NDP is to take steps at the Leg to try and make cell phone bills more affordable, and also to push the cell phone providers to increase the amount of coverage.”

Kinew says emergency alerts are a big issue that needs to be addressed.

If people are going to keep paying so much, they should be getting the emergency alerts. He mentioned incidents like the Alonsa Tornado as one example of where more people needed to receive the warning.

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A woman who grew up in Russell was shot and killed by Calgary police on Christmas day. 

29-year-old Stacey Perry was shot after several hours of erratic driving that started after midnight on the 25th.

Police say it was decided to box the car in after she began driving into oncoming traffic.

Police say she was trying to use her vehicle as a weapon and Global News learned that an officer fired his gun at the woman to save another officer from harm.

The police officer fired his weapon after telling the driver to stop and take her foot off the gas.

Calgary police have not provided any more information on a motivation for her actions.

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Snowmobile trails are open around the Parkland.

Al Butler, President of Snowman, says right now the Intermountain Club has groomed trails around the Grandview and Gilbert Plains area.

More are opening soon.

“In the Russell area, we’ll be opening up some trails in the next day or so. So I think it’s progressively happening. They’re not just going to all happen all at once.”

“With the little additional snow that we’ve had in the last two or three days, I think you’ll find the trails progressively opened. The forecast is indicating that we’re going to get some more snow through the week and this coming weekend. So if that happens, I think you’ll see some trials opening up.”

Snowman has an interactive map they’ve developed to show which trails have been groomed.

You can get to the map by clicking here.

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The flu numbers are rising this year.

The best way to avoid getting the flu is still to get immunized.

If you didn’t get immunized, check with your local public health nurse, local pharmacy or medical clinic.

If you have the flu, avoid spreading it by staying home, avoiding contact with other people, as well as practicing good coughing, and coughing or sneezing into the bend of your arm.

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With the year wrapping up Robert Sopuck is looking at 2019 and anticipates there are a number of issues we’ll be dealing with.

“The issue of Canada’s competitiveness is extremely important. We’re starting to see foreign investment leave this country. For example, I think, Encana Pipelines has closed down their head office in Calgary. We saw the closure of the GM plant in Oshawa. There could be some major economic headwinds coming towards us.”

Crime is also a big issue for the Parkland, and in 2018 it hit home for Sopuck.

“We had the shooting in the Onanole area, and I live quite close to there. Friends and neighbours were involved in that, and it was a very frightening time for people. I can’t have anything but praise for the police officers who were the first responders, one of course was injured, and they caught the criminals.”

He says the problem of crime is always there but, hopefully, they can stay on top of it in 2019.

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Around 4000 vehicles were checked in Week Three of the RCMP’s Holiday Checkstop Program. 

68 checkstops were conducted all over the province with 21 people charged with Impaired Driving because of alcohol.

The highest blood/alcohol reading was almost three times the legal limit and driver was found with a .220.

During the week that ran between the 17th and the 23rd, there were six alcohol-related tiered suspensions and one drug-related tiered suspension.

Two people were charged with Refusing a Breath Demand.

12 people were charged with improper storage of alcohol or cannabis in a vehicle.

There was also no fatal traffic-related collisions during week three.

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Manitoba Public Insurance released their top five fraud cases of the year.

They estimate that auto insurance fraud costs $50 million a year and broken down that’s about $50 for each ratepayer.

Suspicious claims are handled by Manitoba Public Insurance’s Special Investigation Unit. As of the end of this November, claims savings are more than $10 million with the SIU closing 1,600 investigations.

Here is their list:

No. 1: “Comic Con Job”

A devout fan of Comic-Con, the 25-year-old woman was observed walking around Winnipeg’s Convention Centre for six hours, enjoying her favourite superheroes, wizards, spaceships, and zombies. An investigator also observed the woman going on numerous shopping trips and driving the two-hour round trip from her rural home to Winnipeg.

Just one problem: the woman was collecting income replacement payments after stating she was unable to work due to injuries from a motor vehicle collision. She told her MPI case manager she could only walk a maximum of 15 minutes before getting dizzy and was unable to drive for long periods of time. After receiving information via the Tips Line, an investigation was opened.

With all the conclusive evidence in hand, Manitoba Public Insurance terminated the woman’s income replacement payments and demanded repayment of $34,000 in benefits already paid out. 

No. 2: “Polite Arsonist”

The registered owner opened a theft claim, telling her MPI adjuster she had given her car to her 22-year-old son, who reported the keys were stolen while he was attending a house party. The truth would become evident days later thanks to a number of witnesses, who had quite the story to share with police and MPI investigators.

One witness stated that while driving down a road in rural Manitoba around 7 a.m., he was shocked to see a man deliberately light a fire within his vehicle which was parked in a ditch.

As the vehicle quickly became engulfed in flames, the witness stopped and asked if the man was okay. The young man replied, “Yes, thanks. And have a nice day,” before running off into the bush. The witness contacted RCMP.

The investigation would also uncover that the same vehicle had been involved in a hit-and-run collision the previous evening in Winnipeg. After being awoken by the loud crash, a neighbour quickly attended to the crash site where he came upon a young man who told the neighbour “not to speak to police.”

The man, who appeared highly intoxicated, then quickly drove away in a Dodge Nitro ─ the same vehicle which was burned hours later in the rural ditch.

Police showed photos of several individuals to the witnesses, who were able to conclusively identify the driver. With the evidence in hand the claim was denied for false statement, resulting in a savings of $57,000 to Manitoba Public Insurance ratepayers.

No. 3: “Breakfast Blunder!”

The registered owner of the vehicle opened a total theft claim with her MPI adjuster after police found her vehicle badly damaged. She reported she had given her vehicle to her son, who told MPI staff he had gone for breakfast with his brother at a downtown hotel. The son, 45, claimed that after breakfast he went to the washroom while his brother also left their table to play VLTs.

The son presumed an opportunistic thief must have taken the vehicle keys out of his unattended sweater which had been left on a chair.

The man’s story quickly unravelled when hotel staff confirmed the restaurant hadn’t served breakfast in a number of years and the brother stated he hadn’t seen his brother in over nine months.

MPI subsequently filed a Statement of Claim for repayment of the $22,800 already paid.

No. 4: “Not So Jolly Christmas Party”

The Winnipeg man told his adjuster that while he and his girlfriend were attending a Christmas party, someone stole his vehicle from a parking lot. He confirmed that he was missing a key. The man’s Dodge Journey was recovered not far from the man’s residence ─ badly damaged after crashing into a tree.

An investigation was launched after several suspicious circumstances came to light. Investigators would learn the man and his girlfriend did return home from the party, with the male appearing highly intoxicated and agitated. Shortly after arriving home the 22-year-old vehicle owner was seen driving off in his vehicle.

When presented with all the facts the vehicle owner withdrew their claim. Savings to Manitoba Public Insurance ratepayers: $22,600.

No. 5: “Vehicle Technology Tells All”

Thanks to an anonymous call to MPI’s Tips Line, Autopac ratepayers were saved nearly $40,000.

The vehicle owner opened a claim after his 2014 Nissan Titan was badly damaged after crashing into a ditch in rural Manitoba. The man claimed that he was driving at the time of the crash. However, due to tips/information provided, investigators believed the man’s wife was actually driving and was heavily intoxicated at the time of the crash. However, police were unable to place her at the crash.

The vehicle owner was told that the vehicle’s onboard Crash Data Recorder had been removed and staff with MPI’s Training and Research Unit were going to download the data which would confirm occupants’ weight in the front seat at the time of the crash. The man then withdrew his claim.

 

Anyone with information about auto insurance fraud is encouraged to call the Manitoba Public Insurance TIPS Line: 204-985-8477 or toll-free 1-877-985-8477. All calls are anonymous.

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The City of Dauphin installed a new sign in Vermillion Park to show off our Canada 150 trees.

Last year Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba Janice Filmon donated five Regal Celebration Trees to Dauphin.

“They are planted in Vermillion Park towards the east end of where the camping is, or the loop where people can drive through the park. Part of the cities commitment to this donation was to put up a sign saying what the trees are and to acknowledge who gave them to us and why they are there.”

Sharla Griffiths says Dauphin was one of only 6 locations outside of Winnipeg to get the trees.

The sign was designed, constructed, and installed by Graphic Factory.

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One person is dead and three people are in the hospital in Neepawa following a collision at 5:30 this morning.

An ambulance was transferring a patient to Winnipeg when it collided with another vehicle on Highway 16.

Two paramedics and the patient in the ambulance are in the hospital in Neepawa.

Highway 16 is now open.

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There are a few rules to know when it comes to shovelling in Dauphin.

When the average person shovels, they are not allowed to shovel onto the street.

For business owners, snow must be shovelled onto the street by 10 am the morning following a snowfall to be cleared by the city.

If a business owner doesn’t shovel their sidewalk, the city will do it for them and then charge them accordingly.

Shovelling is mandatory for business owners.

For everyone else shovelling is not mandatory, the city will eventually clear off all public sidewalks.

Some mail deliverers won’t deliver mail if there’s too much snow on someone’s property.

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According to the RCMP, more people died on Manitoba roads in 2018 than in 2017.

There have been 75 crashes this past year, resulting in the deaths of 81 people.

In 2017, there were 68 crashes with 76 deaths.

The total is above the five-year average of 79.

The majority of the deaths can be attributed to drivers failing to wear seatbelts, and driving while impaired or distracted.

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