Replica E-edition published daily Get the app Read your copy here

Local

Coding contest brings high schools together

Colin Slark 5 minute read Preview

Coding contest brings high schools together

Colin Slark 5 minute read 3:00 AM CDT

Students from four Westman high schools gathered at Brandon University on Wednesday to square off in a computer science competition.

The competition randomly assigns participating students into groups, who then must work together to solve problems in the programming language Java.

“They’re in random teams of three to four students, drawn out of a hat,” said Cheryl Klimeck, who has taught at Crocus Plains Regional Secondary School for 24 years.

“They have been given a list of problems on a website and they try to solve as many problems as they can. They only get one computer, so they are coding on paper and then they put it in to see if it works or not.”

Read
3:00 AM CDT

Local high school students from Vincent Massey, Neelin, Crocus Plains and Virden Collegiate Institute were drawn into random teams to solve coding-based problems at Brandon University on Wednesday. (Colin Slark/The Brandon Sun)

Air Canada technical issue causing flight delays for second time in a week

The Canadian Press 1 minute read Preview

Air Canada technical issue causing flight delays for second time in a week

The Canadian Press 1 minute read Updated: 11:12 AM CDT

Air Canada says it is experiencing technical problems causing flight delays for the second time in a week.

The Montreal-based airline is advising travellers to check the status of their flights online amid delays caused by an IT issue.

It is not immediately clear how many flights are impacted.

Air Canada briefly grounded its planes last Thursday due to a problem with the system it uses to communicate with aircraft and monitor their performance.

Read
Updated: 11:12 AM CDT

Air Canada planes at Pearson International Airport in Toronto in this file image. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

Weather

This evening: Sunny with cloudy periods 26°c Sunny with cloudy periods Tonight: Cloudy periods 17°c Cloudy periods

Brandon MB
28°C, A few clouds

Full Forecast

Indigenous students celebrate

Michele McDougall 4 minute read 3:00 AM CDT

Hundreds of Westman students from pre-school to post-secondary gathered to celebrate their educational achievements and their Indigenous heritage at Brandon’s Riverbank Discovery Centre on Wednesday.

The event was a collaboration between Assiniboine Community College, Brandon University and the Brandon School Division, titled “Our Journey, Indigenous Student Graduation Celebration” to “honour students’ successes and their education,” according to BSD communications co-ordinator Terri Curtis.

“We have the little ones in pre-school who are going into kindergarten, our Grade 8s going into Grade 9, and then we have our 12s going into post-secondary and finally, our post-secondary students heading into career aspirations,” Curtis said.

Kris Desjarlais, ACC’s director of Indigenous education, said each school honours Indigenous students in their own ways, but it made sense to join forces.

BU teaching award recipients named

2 minute read Preview

BU teaching award recipients named

2 minute read 3:00 AM CDT

Faculty members from Brandon University’s music and psychology departments will receive teaching honours at this week’s convocation.

The university announced Wednesday that Megumi Masaki of the school of music will receive the Senate Award for Excellence in Research, and Nicholas Watier of the department of psychology will receive the Senate Award for Excellence in Teaching at the event being held today and Friday.

Masaki has been teaching at the university since 2006, obtaining tenure in 2011 and becoming a full professor in 2014. She is a member of the Order of Canada.

The pianist explores building communities, acting on the Truth and Reconciliation’s calls to action and how to communicate human rights and environmental issues through music and multimedia performances.

Read
3:00 AM CDT

Pianist and multimedia artist Megumi Masaki (right), a professor at Brandon University's School of Music, will be awarded the Senate Award for Excellence in Research at convocation festivities this week. (Submitted)

Fatalities highlight need for seatbelt use: RCMP

By Tessa Adamski 4 minute read Preview

Fatalities highlight need for seatbelt use: RCMP

By Tessa Adamski 4 minute read Updated: 9:47 AM CDT

WINNIPEG — Nathanial Ryzner was driving home the day after attending his mother’s memorial service in southwestern Manitoba last week when he lost control of his vehicle.

It would be the final moments of his life. Ryzner, 19, wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.

“Almost all rollover crashes are survivable if you’re buckled up,” said RCMP Sgt. Mark Hume. “The risk of dying or being seriously injured without a seatbelt is very high.”

The Brandon resident was driving eastbound on Highway 3 on the evening of May 21 after again heading to Pierson Cemetery in the southwest corner of the province.

Read
Updated: 9:47 AM CDT

Nathanial Ryzner, 19, was driving on Highway 3, just east of Road 162 West, when he lost control of his vehicle and was pronounced deceased at the scene. (Supplied)

Police chief announces retirement

Geena Mortfield 5 minute read Preview

Police chief announces retirement

Geena Mortfield 5 minute read 3:00 AM CDT

Stepping down from the helm as chief of the Brandon Police Service is bittersweet, Wayne Balcaen said.

After six years as chief and 33 years with the force, Balcaen officially announced his retirement on Wednesday.

The police chief’s last day in office will be June 26.

“This has been my routine and my work family for the past 33 years. Knowing that it’s coming to an end is difficult,” Balcaen told the Sun. “But I also know that we’re in excellent hands, so the timing is good.”

Read
3:00 AM CDT

Wayne Balcaen

Couple draw attention to missing, murdered Indigenous people

By Miranda Leybourne Local Journalism Initiative 6 minute read Preview

Couple draw attention to missing, murdered Indigenous people

By Miranda Leybourne Local Journalism Initiative 6 minute read Updated: 10:00 AM CDT

Living with not knowing the fate of a missing loved one is the reality Charity and Cameron West deal with every day.

The Wests — who are walking across the country to raise awareness of missing and murdered Indigenous people — live along the Highway of Tears, a stretch of Highway 16 that runs for 720 kilometres across northern B.C. where 18 girls and women have gone missing or been murdered since 1969, though Indigenous groups fear the number is closer to 50.

The newlywed couple, who started their cross-country journey in Alberta in May, also have first-hand experience of the devastation that follows when a family member goes missing. The father of Charity’s son Tyrrehz, Barry Blaine Thomas Seymour from Kwadacha Nation, went missing from Prince George, B.C. in May of 2012, and still hasn’t been found.

Seymour was visiting for his son’s birthday, then headed up further north to visit more family members. He was never heard from again, Charity said.

Read
Updated: 10:00 AM CDT

Charity and Cameron West, photographed on the Trans-Canada Highway just west of Carberry with their French bulldog Gretchen, are walking across Canada to draw attention to missing and murdered Indigenous people. They began their first leg of the walk in Siksika Nation in southern Alberta and are walking to St. John's, N.L. From there they will begin their second leg in Prince Rupert, B.C., and walk the Highway of Tears on Highway 16, where several Indigenous Canadians have gone missing, home to Prince George. They average approximately 40 to 50 kilometres a day. (Photos by Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

Sioux Valley man dies in hit and run; man arrested for choking assault

3 minute read Preview

Sioux Valley man dies in hit and run; man arrested for choking assault

3 minute read Updated: 9:22 AM CDT

Man struck, killedA Sioux Valley Dakota Nation man was killed on Tuesday after he was struck by a vehicle.

The 21-year-old man had been walking with friends when he split off from the group to head down Cemetery Road. Virden RCMP found a body lying on Cemetery Road after receiving a report of a deceased man Tuesday morning.

Early Wednesday morning, Mounties seized a vehicle “of interest” in the community. An examination of the vehicle is continuing. No arrests have been made, RCMP say.

An autopsy to confirm the cause of death will be completed soon, RCMP told the Sun. While the investigation is ongoing, RCMP say that at this time, it is unclear whether the hit and run was a targeted attack.

Read
Updated: 9:22 AM CDT

Let’s Do Something! — June 1, 2023

Cathy Arthur 15 minute read Preview

Let’s Do Something! — June 1, 2023

Cathy Arthur 15 minute read Updated: 9:08 AM CDT

To get your event featured in a future edition of Let’s Do Something, send an email to carthur@brandonsun.com, with “Let’s Do Something” in the subject line.

TODAY

• 10:15 to 11 a.m. — Every Thursday throughout June will feature Storytimes with Michelle at the Brandon Public Library for preschoolers. Little ones can enjoy a story, song and craft. The presence of a caregiver or parent is required. No registration necessary.

• 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. — BACE Cruise Night in Downtown Brandon takes place on Rosser Avenue between Sixth and 13th streets. People wishing to show their vehicles are encouraged to enter the event at the intersection of Rosser Avenue and 13th Street. Free to participants and spectators.

Read
Updated: 9:08 AM CDT

Kaylee Harrison, 6, rides the Tilt-a-Whirl during last year’s Manitoba Summer Fair. This year’s fair runs June 7-11. (File)

Kaylee Harrison, 6, rides the Tilt-a-Whirl at the Manitoba Summer Fair on Saturday.

Questions linger over stolen lingerie

Geena Mortfield 4 minute read Preview

Questions linger over stolen lingerie

Geena Mortfield 4 minute read Updated: 8:48 AM CDT

A woman has been sentenced to time served in jail and will have to pay back an adult boutique store for stealing more than $1,000 worth of lingerie.

Kristin Bone pleaded guilty to a charge of theft under $5,000 in court on Monday for stealing lingerie from Smitten earlier this year. The judge ordered Bone to pay back the store for the items she stole.

In addition, Bone will also have to pay hundreds of dollars in fines after pleading guilty to numerous charges she racked up around town, including mischief, forgery, failure to attend court, possession of break-in tools and possession of property obtained by crime.

On Feb. 11, Bone, along with another woman, took a shopping trip at Smitten adult boutique on 18th Street. The women brought numerous items from the store into the fitting rooms, where they removed the tags. According to video surveillance footage that police reviewed, Bone is seen with 11 items of lingerie, which she left the store without paying for. The total value of the undergarmets was $1,161.55 and prosecutors noted that none were ever found.

Read
Updated: 8:48 AM CDT

The Brandon courthouse (File)

Platform collapse sends children to hospital

By Chris Kitching and Maggie Macintosh 8 minute read Preview

Platform collapse sends children to hospital

By Chris Kitching and Maggie Macintosh 8 minute read 9:37 AM CDT

WINNIPEG — Students who were on a field trip to Fort Gibraltar heard a cracking noise moments before a platform collapsed and sent about 30 people, mostly children, falling four to six metres Wednesday morning.

Officials said 17 children and one adult from St. John’s-Ravenscourt School suffered varying degrees of injury and were taken to the Health Sciences Centre, which declared a “code orange” — a disaster occurring outside the hospital.

“It could have been so, so much worse. We were prepared for the worst,” Dr. Karen Gripp, medical director of Children’s Hospital’s emergency department, told a news conference outside the hospital.

She said she had never seen an incident of “this magnitude,” in terms of patient numbers.

Read
9:37 AM CDT

An elevated walkway at Fort Gibraltar in Winnipeg collapsed during a school field trip, causing multiple children and an adult to be taken to hospital on Wednesday. (David Lipnowski/Winnipeg Free Press)

Brandon doctor censured for improper genital exam

Katrina Clarke 5 minute read Preview

Brandon doctor censured for improper genital exam

Katrina Clarke 5 minute read Yesterday at 3:00 AM CDT

WINNIPEG — A longtime Brandon pediatrician has been reprimanded by Manitoba’s physician watchdog after he administered a genital exam on an adolescent patient without gloves, proper draping and obtaining consent.

Dr. Emmett Elves was issued a formal censure by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba earlier this month, after it found he “failed to meet the standard of the profession” and “displayed a lack of judgment” relating to a 12-year-old boy’s appointment in 2022.

Elves, who has been practising since the 1970s, has apologized to the patient and plans to retire in June, according to a discipline decision posted on the college’s website.

The censure comes one month after a Winnipeg Free Press investigation revealed six Manitoba physicians — including Elves — have chaperone conditions on their licences, meaning they require someone else present when conducting sensitive exams.

Read
Yesterday at 3:00 AM CDT

Dr. Emmett Elves was issued a formal censure by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba earlier this month, after it found he “failed to meet the standard of the profession” and “displayed a lack of judgment” relating to a 12-year-old boy’s appointment in 2022. (Winnipeg Free Press)

Manitoba priest accused of sexually assaulting girl

Chris Kitching and Tyler Searle 6 minute read Preview

Manitoba priest accused of sexually assaulting girl

Chris Kitching and Tyler Searle 6 minute read Yesterday at 3:00 AM CDT

WINNIPEG — A 48-year-old priest from Winnipeg has been accused of sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl at a Roman Catholic church on a remote Manitoba First Nation — and police believe there may be more victims.

Manitoba RCMP Supt. Scott McMurchy said the priest is alleged to have inappropriately touched the girl after asking her to help clean a church in Little Grand Rapids First Nation on May 27.

The community is about 265 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.

The priest, who was alone with the girl at the time, allegedly tried to prevent her from leaving the church afterward, McMurchy said.

Read
Yesterday at 3:00 AM CDT

Arul Savari, 48, has been accused of sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl at a Roman Catholic church on the Little Grand Rapids First Nation. (Facebook)

Transitional housing gets $5M boost

Colin Slark 4 minute read Preview

Transitional housing gets $5M boost

Colin Slark 4 minute read Yesterday at 3:00 AM CDT

A transitional housing project in Brandon is halfway to covering construction costs after the federal government announced $5 million in funding through the Rapid Housing Initiative on Tuesday.

Last December, Youth for Christ Westman and the John Howard Society first announced their intention to build a three-storey, 24-unit centre aimed at helping people who have recently been released from jail or depend on shelter facilities find a place to live as they start a new chapter in their lives.

The need for such a facility was even more pronounced after the local YWCA was forced to close Meredith Place when critical repairs to the century-old transitional housing building became unfeasible.

“Everyone deserves a safe and affordable place to call home,” federal Housing Minister Ahmed Hussen said in a media release. “Through the Rapid Housing Initiative, we are quickly providing new affordable housing units for people who need them most, right across Canada, including right here in Brandon.”

Read
Yesterday at 3:00 AM CDT

A rendering of the transitional housing project led by the John Howard Society of Brandon and Youth for Christ Westman. (Samson Engineering)

Mortgage Calculator Powered by: Westoba Credit Union Ltd.

Passages are published at 6:30am Mon - Sat

▼ Scroll for More ▼

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

LOAD MORE

Opinion

LOAD MORE

Sports

LOAD MORE

Westman this Week

LOAD MORE