Cyclist killed in collision

A Vincent Massey High School student was hit and killed Thursday afternoon while on his bicycle, in the intersection of Victoria Avenue and McDiarmid Drive.

The collision happened shortly before 5 p.m. as the cyclist was heading north on McDiarmid Drive when he was struck by a westbound vehicle.

Kathleen Barteaux works in the Bell MTS Store, which is on the same corner, and said while she didn’t see the collision, their security camera did. It was the flashing lights of the emergency vehicles that caught her attention.

“I was here by myself and wasn’t sitting where I could see the intersection until I noticed the flashing lights and heard the ambulances. Nobody here actually saw it first-hand,” Barteaux said.

BFF plans $30M McKenzie Seeds building overhaul

Brandon Fresh Farms is set to invest $30 million in converting the historic McKenzie Seeds building in Brandon into a state-of-the-art controlled environment agricultural farm.

The initiative is set to bring numerous benefits to the community, including job opportunities, sustainable farming practices and a boost to local food security.

“BFF aims to renovate and repurpose the historic McKenzie Seeds building into a state-of-the-art controlled environment agricultural farm with a main-level market garden to sell directly to the community,” BFF president Adam Morand disclosed to the Sun. “Thirty million is our expected budget for renovations, equipment, hiring and staffing to make BFF profitable and a contributing entity to Brandon.”

He also disclosed that BFF will be the owner of the McKenzie Seeds building, as the transaction is being completed in October and land titles should be updated before the end of the month. Morand added that AgriPlay Ventures Incorporated — which he founded — is and will remain a significant shareholder of Brandon Fresh Farms Inc. for the foreseeable future.

MacMillan sees benefit in school board bid

Scott MacMillan is looking to give back to the community by running in the Brandon School Division Ward 1 byelection, which will take place on Oct. 25.

MacMillan, who became paralyzed in an automobile accident while on his way to work as a former rig manager with Eagle Well Servicing four years ago, says he has spent the time between then and now working on his physical and emotional health.

When MacMillan got the call from his insurance provider that said he was no longer employable because of the nature of his injuries, he knew he wanted to spend his time in a positive way.

“I said to myself, ‘Well, what can I do, that will not only benefit me, but benefit the community, and be something I’m interested in, and believe in?’ And I came up with this first, so this is the road I chose,” said MacMillan, who also serves on the board of the Brandon Wheelchair Association.

Indigenous groups upbeat after election

Indigenous groups in the province and across the country are celebrating Wab Kinew becoming the premier-elect in Manitoba, making him the first First Nations person to do so.

Wabanakwut (Wab) Kinew has served as the leader of the Manitoba New Democratic Party (NDP) and the leader of the Opposition since 2017. Representing Fort Rouge in the legislature, Kinew won his seat and his role as premier-elect on Tuesday night’s election.

The membership, staff and volunteers of the Brandon Friendship Centre have congratulated Wab Kinew for being elected premier of Manitoba in Tuesday’s provincial election.

Kinew has made campaign promises what will benefit the clients of Friendship Centres in Manitoba and all Manitobans, Jacqueline Henry, president of the Brandon Friendship Centre, told the Sun, including mashkiki — medicine in Anishinaabemowin, and the facilities to ensure all Manitobans have access to it.

Balcaen prevails in tight Brandon West race

Two days after the provincial election took place, the hotly contested constituency of Brandon West finally found a winner — by a razor-thin margin, electorally speaking, the city’s west end will remain Tory blue.

Brandon West was among a number of electoral districts to experience slow vote counting — which Elections Manitoba blamed on storms that knocked out power and caused problems with vote-counting machines, new election procedures and technical issues with its website.

Mid-Thursday afternoon, however, Elections Manitoba’s website finally showed that all Brandon West polls had reported and all advance votes were counted, with former Brandon police chief and Progressive Conservative candidate Wayne Balcaen emerging as the winner.

Brandon West was up for grabs after former PC MLA Reg Helwer announced he wouldn’t run for re-election. Helwer held the seat for 12 years, and Balcaen’s win means the constituency will remain in Tory hands.

‘Millions’ to fix Civic Services Complex

An investigation into the cause and extent of the damage to the city’s Civic Services Complex on Richmond Avenue continues, nearly a month after a natural gas line explosion shook the structure on Sept. 7. But Brandon’s general manager of operations, Patrick Pulak, can already tell that the cost of necessary repairs will not come cheap.

“Millions of dollars,” Pulak said Thursday. “We still don’t know the exact number until they’ve completed their assessment, but it’s millions of dollars.”

Thankfully, Pulak says the building is still quite salvageable and repairable, in spite of rumours to the contrary.

“I can tell you with complete surety that the building is not a writeoff. Not even close,” Pulak said. “There’s certainly some damage to some structural walls and to the mechanical room and to parts of the roof, but the vast majority of the building is unharmed.”

Playing around

Photos by Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun

Fire truck ‘link to the past’

For 24 years, this Brandon beauty roared to life every time a call came in and firefighters jumped on board with hoses, axes and ladders as they raced to the scene of a fire.

The 1929 red Bickle fire truck was in service in the Wheat City from 1930 to 1954.

It is now retired, refurbished and is the show piece at the museum in Brandon’s No. 1 Firehall at 120 19th St. North.

The city was offered a two per cent discount if it purchased twin pumper trucks at $11,172 each. So they both rolled into Brandon from the Bickle Fire Engine Company in Woodstock, Ont., in April 1930.

Tips for a budget-friendly Thanksgiving feast

As the leaves change and the air turns crisp, Canadians eagerly anticipate Thanksgiving, a time for family gatherings and feasting.

With the cost of travel and groceries remaining high, experts have advised many not to break the bank but be concerned about the financial strain of travelling and hosting a traditional Thanksgiving meal.

“Apart from the actual cost of food, I think travel expenses are quite relevant, as Thanksgiving is a time for families to come together,” Brandon University geography professor Derrek Eberts told the Sun. “While many food items may be on sale, and therefore still relatively affordable, gas and other travel expenses do not tend to go down around holidays, but rather the opposite.”

Eberts said that family gatherings will almost certainly be more expensive for those who don’t live in the same town or city as their parents, siblings, children, aunts, uncles and grandparents.

Council approves next step for Redwood

While most of Manitoba tuned in to see whether the New Democratic Party or the Progressive Conservatives would form the next provincial government on Tuesday, those with a vested interest in something closer to home packed Brandon’s city council chambers.

The City of Brandon held a public hearing for a variance application to transform the Redwood Motor Inn, located at 345 18th St. North, into a family reunification facility for people who have gone through addictions treatment. The city’s planning commission had previously rejected the zoning application on July 7.

The application had been brought by Aurora Recovery Centre, a private addiction treatment centre in Gimli, which now owns the Redwood in Brandon. Aurora is converting the motel into a long-term recovery facility that helps parents recovering from addiction reunite with their children and learn basic life skills to help them work toward independent living.

A supplementary report written on Sept. 22 to city council recommended two options.