Looking Back — April 10, 2024

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/04/2024 (542 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SIXTY YEARS AGO

Wayne Veale, president of the students’ union at Brandon College, and George Strang, president of the College alumni association, will turn the sod today for the college’s new $330,876 gymnasium. The gym is to be built at 20th Street and Louise Avenue on the southwestern end of the college campus.

FIFTY YEARS AGO

Del Vopni, manager of the Eaton’s store in Brandon, has resigned from the city’s advisory planning board and Stephen Humphrey, manager of Brandon Shoppers Mall, has resigned from the Brandon board of police commissioners. Moves out of the city were the reasons given for both resignations.

FORTY YEARS AGO

Progressive Conservative Leader Brian Mulroney shuffled his shadow cabinet at a weekend caucus session in Mount Ste. Marie, Que., appointing Brandon-Souris MP Lee Clark deputy critic for the Canadian Wheat Board.

City council decided to hire a Toronto consulting firm to develop five-year and 10-year plans to revamp the city’s transit system. The city will pay $38,380 to conduct an 18-week study to recommend changes to the transit system.

THIRTY YEARS AGO

The first-ever western Manitoba Lions telethon was a huge success today. Organizers had hoped to raise at least $50,000 through the six-hour show featuring local entertainers and radio and television personalities. By the end of the show, $73,353 had been raised for the Lions Foundation of Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario.

A $2.2-million water treatment plant and a treated water storage facility will be built in Virden. The project will be equally funded by the federal, provincial and municipal governments through the Canada-Manitoba Partnership Agreement on Municipal Water Infrastructure.

TWENTY YEARS AGO

After 10 years of avoiding the political bug, Eldon Obach let it bite him once again. Obach, a 44-year-old implement and feed salesman from Wawanesa, will seek the Brandon-Souris NDP nomination, returning to politics after his sixth-place finish as the local National Party candidate in 1993.

Expanding the city’s Emergency Services College into a vacant ACC appears not to be on the table. Doug Popowich, the provincial fire commissioner, says they have no plans for the foreseeable future to increase the college’s size or let in more than the 64 full-time students a year it admits now.

TEN YEARS AGO

There will be no byelection to fill the South Centre ward seat on Brandon City Council. Councillors voted this week to wait until the October municipal election to fill the spot left vacant by former councillor Garth Rice. Given the close proximity to the fall election and the cost (estimated at $13,000), administration made the recommendation to not hold a byelection. Coun. Jan Chaboyer (Green Acres) and Coun. Len Isleifson (Riverview) have volunteered to support South Centre residents in the meantime.

More than 19,000 people across the province “stood for respect” Wednesday as part of the third annual Red Cross Day of Pink. Presented by RBC Royal Bank, the Red Cross Day of Pink brings awareness of the impact of bullying and what people can do to create safe and respectful communities.