SIXTY YEARS AGO

Brandon’s mill rate for 1963 was set at 63.5 mills, up 3.5 mills from last year.

One of Canada’s foremost agriculturists and a former Manitoba cabinet minister, Donald G. McKenzie, died at his home in Brandon at the age of 76.

Astronaut Gordon Cooper set sail on the longest planned U.S. space flight today at 22 orbits of the earth.

 

FIFTY YEARS AGO

Manitoba’s unemployment rate of four per cent was the lowest in Canada for the second consecutive month.

Eggs are a hot issue in B.C. and Manitoba right now. A major egg war is shaping up because Manitoba producers are selling eggs in B.C. for less than those produced in B.C. Last month, the B.C. Egg Marketing Board seized 55,000 eggs shipped from Manitoba.

 

FORTY YEARS AGO

A Shilo man, Ray Maisonneuve, was stranded on an island in the Assiniboine River for two hours yesterday before three men rescued him.

Lebanon’s parliament was reported today to have approved a government decision to sign a U.S.-mediated troop withdrawal agreement with Israel.

 

THIRTY YEARS AGO

Brandon University math professor Gywn Richards has come up with a new and highly sophisticated method using mathematics to accurately plot forest fires. Richards spent four years coming up with the equation, which takes up two full sheets of paper.

Country singer Michelle Wright performed for a full house at the Keystone Centre during her stop in Brandon.

A Reston man, David Bradell, has been awarded one of four 1993 Prix Manitoba Awards for heritage. Bradell won in the distinguished service individual volunteer category for outstanding contributions, dedication and commitment to the preservation of all forms of heritage in his community and surrounding areas.

 

TWENTY YEARS AGO

Statistics Canada released new census data indicating the average family income in Brandon jumped between 1995 and 2000. The median family income in Brandon was $49,012 in 2000 — a three per cent increase from 1995, when the median income, adjusted for inflation, was $47,577.

The technology powering a new $15-million wastewater treatment plant for Maple Leaf Pork will cut down on the amount of nitrogen and phosphate ending up in the Assiniboine River, yet will lead to more sludge being spread on local fields. Brandonites got a look at how the proposed plant will work at an open house at the Riverbank Discovery Centre yesterday. A new water treatment technology developed by Ontario-based Zenon Environmental will take wastewater from the plant and run it through a series of tubes which contain tiny pores.

 

TEN YEARS AGO

The announcement of WestJet’s daily air service to Brandon has thrown the door “wide open” for attracting more events to the city, according to the city’s tourism organization. Erin Brown, recruitment officer with Brandon First, said national conferences, government meetings and top prospect sporting events are just a few of the opportunities they will be looking at.

Dry conditions coupled with severe winds wreaked havoc on Westman Tuesday, putting firefighters to the test as more grass fires erupted in the region — including a blaze that torched a barn and threatened a home southeast of Brandon.