The most-read stories of 2019

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/12/2019 (2139 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

From the controversy surrounding Brandon city manager Rod Sage to a rocking time at Dauphin’s Countryfest, there were plenty of news stories to get Westman residents talking in 2019.

The following are abbreviated versions of some of the most-read Brandon Sun stories of the year.

See Saturday’s edition of the newspaper for a rundown of 2019 stories our news team determined to be the best and/or most interesting of the year, as well as a two-page spead of photographs selected by photographer Tim Smith as his best of the year.

 

Jan. 10 — Note from Canada Post angers resident

 By: Melissa Verge

Frustrated to receive a notice from Canada Post asking she clear her walkway, a woman turned to The Brandon Sun to vent.

“Given we just got 15 centimetres of snow and the winds now gusting 75 km per hour, I find this ridiculous,” the woman said by email.

The previous weekend’s snowstorm dumped 13 centimetres of the white stuff in Brandon, 16 centimetres in Neepawa and 13 centimetres in Winnipeg. The woman said she shovelled three times Sunday night and left for work early the next morning. When she arrived home around 4 p.m., there was a notice waiting for her asking her to remove the snow.

“I could see if my walkway’s never shovelled, but come on Canada Post,” she said. “Shame on you.”

Canada Post puts out notices urging customers to clear snow and ice from their walkways, stairs and driveways in a timely manner so that carriers can have safe access to mailboxes, a spokesperson said.

“Our employees visit thousands of addresses every day, delivering in all types of weather,” the spokesperson said. “It is Canada Post’s responsibility to ensure that they can deliver mail and parcels safely.”

 

Jan. 17 — Nurse made company thrive, brother says

By: Melissa Verge

A nurse who lived in Virden for many years and died in a car crash late last month is being remembered as a kind person and dedicated worker.

“She was very caring and very loving,” said Philip Galauran, the brother of Theresa Ilagan. “She would always look after other people’s needs over hers.”

On Dec. 27, Ilagan, 36, was killed in a crash between Gladstone and Neepawa when the SUV she was driving collided head-on with an ambulance.

RCMP believe poor road conditions were a factor in the collision.

Ilagan first came to Canada from the Philippines in 2009, and made her new home in Virden.

She moved to Canada for better opportunities, Galauran said. With both a degree in nursing and business administration, she was ready to start her career in a new country. Once settled, she worked as a nurse at the Virden Health Centre, a job she was very committed to.

 

April 21 — Astoria Pizza and Pasta closes

By: Melissa Verge

A well-known Brandon pizza and pasta place with a long history in the city has closed its doors.

The quiet announcement was made with a sign taped onto the door of Astoria Pizza and Pasta that said: “Sorry we are closed for business. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

A post on their Facebook page said they are “closed until further notice.”

It was the restaurant’s second incarnation, with the original restaurant at 26th and Victoria Avenue closing in 2006.

The old location sat 88 people, and the new one at 1650 Park Ave. had space for 237, which former shareholder Toula Tarr said wasn’t sustainable.

Tarr said she sold her shares back in January because of differences with the Trotter brothers. Tarr’s original business partner was Blake Trotter, but his brother Brock bought him out, she said.

 

April 23 — Man gets 18 years for shooting RCMP officer

By: Erin Debooy

MINNEDOSA — A man who shot an RCMP officer in the back of the head near Onanole last August has been sentenced to 18 years in prison.

“The conduct of Mr. Racette-Beaulieu was disturbing and abhorrent,” Judge John Combs said in his decision delivered in Minnedosa provincial court. “This was reflected by the suggested sentences by both Crown and defence.”

Therae Racette-Beaulieu pleaded guilty in Brandon provincial court in February to one count of attempted murder — amended from two counts of attempted murder to include both RCMP officers who were shot at — as well as break and enter, stealing firearms and robbery of a motor vehicle.

At a sentencing hearing in March, the Crown asked the court to consider a sentence of 20 years, while defence counsel argued a total sentence of 15 to 16 years would be sufficient.

The series of incidents on Aug. 29, 2018 started when Racette-Beaulieu and co-accused broke into a property near Portage la Prairie, hitting the property owner with a rake three times before jumping into his truck and speeding off — almost running the man over in the process.

The group then broke into two more properties near Onanole, making away with multiple firearms from one property before getting headed off by RCMP on the road.

Cpl. Graeme Kingdon ran the stolen truck off the road and into a ditch, forcing the group to flee on foot. 

As Kingdon approached the vehicle to clear it for officer safety, Racette-Beaulieu shot him from a nearby hill in the back of the head with a stolen 12-gauge shotgun.

 

June 15 — Brandon chosen for immigration pilot program

By: Drew May

A new immigration program aimed at filling labour gaps in rural and northern communities is coming to Brandon.

Brandon is one of the 11 towns and cities that were chosen for the federal government’s Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot. The program is designed to help employers hire people from outside Canada for hard-to-fill jobs.

The Gretna-Rhineland-Altona-Plum Coulee region was the only other Manitoba community chosen to take part in the pilot.

Westman Immigrant Services executive director Lois MacDonald said it’s “fantastic” news.

“We’ll certainly build the diversity that Brandon has experienced over the last two decades, and it will also mean that individuals with specific skills can be brought to our community to meet some of the chronic labour shortages that we know we have been experiencing,” she said.

The rural and northern program is an expansion of a similar initiative in Atlantic Canada. According to a press release from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the four Atlantic provinces are able to endorse up to 2,500 workers in 2019 to meet labour needs.

 

June 29 — Energy at Dauphin’s Countryfest site ‘amazing’

By: Chelsea Kemp

DAUPHIN — Basking in the near-30 C weather, thousands of country fans descended on the valley to join in on the fun at Dauphin’s Countryfest.

The tiny valley came alive, with scores of campers turning the area into a small town for the weekend, with the area filling out with the sound of music for the 30th annual event.

Early Friday evening, the bleachers looking toward the main amphitheater slowly filled with spectators eager to catch featured musicians Madeline Merlo, the Brothers Osborne and Old Dominion.

Rocking the secondary Bell MTS Stage, Leslie Stanwyck and Johnny Sinclair and their band Tucker Lane made their first-ever appearance at the music festival on Friday.

Hailing from Saskatoon, the band appeared to have a great time playing a mix of self-penned songs both new and old, alongside a collection of cover songs that many audience members busted out their best two-step to.

“It was a lot of fun to play,” Stanwyck said. “We get all fired up. It’s a good feeling.”

She said that they could feel the energy of the crowd and enjoyed the opportunity to meet new people and musicians while enjoying a sunny day.

“It’s a festive time.”

 

July 3 — Impaired driver gets year in jail

By: Erin Debooy

A woman who severely injured her friend by getting behind the wheel after a night of drinking and driving at excessive speeds has been handed a year of jail time.

“It wasn’t simply that you just were intoxicated while you were driving, but you were driving in a matter that was extremely dangerous,” Judge Donovan Dvorak told Courtney Mae Dunn during her sentencing hearing.

“Unfortunately for (the victim) … the injuries are startling, quite frankly. It’s very clear she suffered serious injuries and ones that are going to impact her life.”

Dunn, 22, pleaded guilty in Brandon provincial court earlier this year to driving impaired causing bodily harm and driving dangerously causing bodily harm.

The incident occurred in October 2017, Crown attorney Kaley Tschetter said, when police responded to an early morning 911 call reporting a two-vehicle collision in the 400 block of Lorne Avenue.

Officers found Dunn sitting next to the open, driver’s-side door of a white Grand Am, Tschetter said, and an unresponsive passenger stuck in the vehicle between the driver’s seat and the passenger’s seat.

 

Aug. 2 — Squatters descend on Greyhound terminal building

By: Drew May

Plans to redevelop the former Greyhound bus terminal on Sixth Street are in the works, with squatters taking up residence in the meantime.

A numbered company, 1003653 Manitoba Ltd., purchased the building from Greyhound Canada Transportation on April 1 for $500,000, according to the property’s land title.

Rijad Hadzic, one of the directors of the company, said he hasn’t been making frequent trips to check on the building, but added that he is aware that people have been congregating where the garbage bins used to be. 

He said plans for the vacant building have not been finalized and couldn’t say whether it would be renovated or something new built on the property.

“The plans are not quite ready, but it’s exciting,” Hadzic said.

The structure has remained empty since Greyhound ended service in Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan at the end of October 2018. The last buses at the terminal were to and from Winnipeg.

 

Aug. 3 — Families come to Brandon on empty promise of jobs

By: Bud Robertson

Three families from the Bahamas who are living in Brandon allege they and two other families were defrauded of thousands of dollars after coming to Canada on the promise of jobs.

Peter Bassey Chukwu said his family and the others, one of which is from Jamaica, were lured to Canada by a woman named Marcia Allen of Facts Global Care — Canada One Five Zero, who secured thousands of dollars from each family on the premise of providing employment in Canada through closed work permits.

Unlike an open work permit that allows the holder to work in any position for any employer in Canada for the length of time stated on the document, closed work permits — also known as employer-specific work permits — limit the holder to working for a specific employer in a specific position for the duration of the work permit.

“Everything she had promised, nothing was there,” Chukwu said.

Chukwu’s wife, Eunice Uchechi Peter Bassey, who received a closed work permit, brought her husband and daughter, Johanna, to Canada, while Chuckwu’s brother-in-law, Kingsley Chibueze Agbaeze, received a closed work permit so he could bring his wife Joyce Uzunma Kingsley to Canada.

Bibiana Uwaoma Nwaozor, meanwhile, received a closed permit to enable her to bring her husband Titus Chukwu Nwaozor (no relation to Peter Chukwu) and their three children.

 

Aug. 8 — Woman files motion to sue Brandon police service

By: Erin Debooy

A woman accused of leaking intimate photos of a Brandon Police Service candidate to senior members of the force during a hiring competition has now filed a motion to sue the force itself.

The accused — erry Lynn Peters — s the defendant in a case filed in Brandon Court of Queen’s Bench by plaintiff Brittany Roque last year.

The lawsuit alleges that Peters distributed intimate images of Roque without her consent as an act of revenge after discovering the photos on her then-partner’s computer.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

According to initial court documents, Roque said she took and sent intimate photos to Ryan Friesen, a BPS officer, during a three-month affair with him in 2015, under the pretence he would not share the photos and would destroy them if the relationship ended.

Peters, a former civilian employee with the BPS, allegedly found the photos and distributed them to senior members of BPS approximately a year later while Roque was in the middle of a hiring competition to become a police officer in Brandon at the time.

Roque is now a police officer in Rivers. 

 

Aug. 23 — ‘We feel like we’ve been shafted’

By: Colin Slark

KILLARNEY — mployees of a now-defunct oil trucking company based out of Kola got a rude surprise this summer when they received letters from the Canada Revenue Agency saying they owe thousands of dollars in arrears income taxes.

TSL Industries Equipment Ltd. paid its employees what it called a “non-taxable living allowance” with the amount being determined by the employee’s position within the company. Office staff were not given the allowance.

However, Canada Revenue audited the company’s payroll after it was sold and determined that the living allowance was indeed taxable income.

The Sun does not know the precise number of people affected, but it is believed to be between 20 and 40 based on conversations with former TSL employees.

Multiple former TSL employees told the Sun that they were paid below industry-standard wages in exchange for receiving this living allowance.

Dallas Pettypiece received a tax bill of $32,747.43, which includes arrears charges of more than $1,000. He worked for TSL in two stints, from 2009 to 2013 and then again from 2015 to 2018. He said that the living allowance was one of the incentives that brought him back.

 

Sept. 1 — Vigil held for teen stabbed to death

By: Bud Robertson

Mourners held an emotional candlelight vigil for a Brandon teen whose life was brutally cut short.

Led by Sonny Grieves’s parents, Dennis and Samantha Grieves, some four-dozen people walked solemnly from the Brandon Friendship Centre on Lorne Avenue to the house on Louise Avenue where Sonny was stabbed to death.

The mourners lit candles and joined in prayer. A member of the Brandon Bear Clan, which organized the vigil on the parents’ behalf, sang a prayer song as he drummed in front of the grieving family members.

A few days previous, police were called to the house at the corner of Louise Avenue and Sixth Street, where the teen had reportedly been stabbed.He was taken to hospital, where he died of his injuries.

Another 15-year-old boy was arrested for first-degree murder and was lodged at the Brandon Correctional Centre to appear in court.

 

Sept. 4 — GoFundMe page set up to help doctor

By: Bud Robertson

Friends and strangers have opened their hearts and their wallets to help a Brandon doctor whose family members in South Africa were the victims of a home invasion gone horribly wrong.

Since a GoFundMe page was started, close to $13,000 has been raised to allow Dr. Rina Fourie, a hospitalist family physician at Brandon Regional Health Centre, to send the money to her family in South Africa.

Fourie’s brother-in-law was shot to death and her sister was badly beaten in front of their three-year-old grandson.

The donations will go toward medical and funeral costs.

“I can’t tell you how much that means to me,” said Fourie, tearing up as she took a break from her rounds.

Unknown assailants forced their way into the Swanepoel family’s home in the quiet neighbourhood of Del Judor in Witbank, South Africa, and killed Fourie’s brother-in-law, Peet Swanepoel, in front of his three-year-old grandson, Franco, and his wife, Annelize.

Fourie’s sister, Annelize, had picked up her grandson from her daughter’s house to look after him while his parents went to work. When Annelize and her grandson returned home, they were ambushed by three men.

 

Sept. 11— Crown seeks 12 to 15 years for manslaughter

By: Erin DeBooy

MINNEDOSA — The Crown has asked the court to consider a 12- to 15-year sentence for a woman involved in a home invasion that resulted in a man being shot and killed.

“Their plan was brutal in its simplicity, and I would suggest blood-chilling in its callousness,” Crown attorney Ron Toews told the Minnedosa provincial court. “The plan was to surprise him, kick in his door while armed with a sawed-off shotgun and the rest, as they say, is history.”

Kelsie LeSergent, 21, pleaded guilty earlier this year to manslaughter for her role in the death of 62-year-old Leonard Maksymic on Nov. 25, 2017.

Toews said one of the most aggravating circumstances of the offence was the premeditation and planning involved, in which LeSergent and her two co-accused conspired to carry out a home invasion of Maksymic’s Neepawa residence.

“Ms. LeSergent did not set out in the early morning hours of Nov. 25 with an innocent intention of how she was going to conduct her activities on that night,” Toews said. “Leaving aside the fact that Mr. Maksymic was shot, what she intended to do that night was participate in an armed home invasion.”

 

Sept. 26 — Brandon family searches for lifesaver

By: Bud Robertson

Lana Russell is searching for the stranger who helped save her father’s life when he collapsed from a heart attack in the Canadian Tire parking lot on Monday.

Her dad, Herb Burridge, a 71-year-old retired power engineer, wasn’t feeling well when he left the store, and as he approached his car, suffered a massive heart attack.

A bystander saw what was happening “and he immediately started CPR as soon as my father collapsed and continued to do that until they (paramedics) arrived, at which point in time they took over,” Russell said in a telephone interview from Winnipeg, where her father was recovering.

“And that’s what saved his life, because had that not happened in the five minutes (before the paramedics arrived) … he probably, we were told, would not have been here.”

Burridge, who lives in Brandon, was airlifted to St. Boniface Hospital before being transferred to Grace Hospital.

“Quick thinking saved somebody’s life,” Russell said.

It was later discovered that Brandon Police Service Const. Jason Medwechuk was the man who saved Burridge’s life.

 

Sept. 29 — Outpouring of support for paralyzed Brandon man

By: Bud Robertson

An outpouring of support has so far raised more than $18,000 to help a Brandon man who was left paralyzed from the chest down in a horrific accident earlier this month.

On the morning of Friday, Sept. 20, Scott MacMillan, 36, was on his way to work at an oil rig in the Virden area.

He was driving his truck in a heavy rainstorm on the Trans-Canada Highway when a tractor-trailer hydroplaned and the driver lost control of his vehicle.

The driver hit his brakes and the trailer jackknifed sideways into MacMillan’s lane, causing him to collide with the trailer. It pinned him underneath, dragging him down the highway until the vehicle eventually came to stop.

MacMillan was rushed to Brandon Regional Health Centre and then transported to the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg for emergency spinal surgery. The procedure took more than six hours.

Doctors told the family MacMillan suffered trauma to his C-6-7 vertebrae and a complete spinal cord dislocation, which will leave him in a wheelchair for the remainder of his life.

MacMillan is the sole provider for his family, which includes his wife Joelynne and three children, 12-year-old twins Maggie and Hunter and Griffin, 15.

 

Oct. 9 — Mayor defends Sage amid revelations

By: Erin Debooy

Brandon police are investigating after a woman living at the city manager’s house died suddenly of a suspected overdose in July.

While acknowledging citizens may have concerns surrounding the circumstances prompting the investigation, Mayor Rick Chrest continues to defend Brandon’s chief administrative officer — maintaining he was a support for someone struggling with an addiction. 

Christine Robin Mitchell, 30, had been residing at Rod Sage’s home for almost five years, according to a CBC report. She was taken to hospital for a suspected overdose on July 10, and later died in hospital.

Police became aware of Mitchell’s death on July 11 from a member of the public, Brandon Police Service Sgt. Kirby Sararas said, and opened an investigation immediately. 

The investigation is ongoing, Sararas said, and as such BPS is unable to disclose any details, such as whether there are any allegations of criminal wrongdoing. 

However, this is not the first time Sage’s home has caught police attention, Sararas confirmed, as police conducted a search of the house for guns last year after receiving information. 

No warrant was issued as Sage was co-operative with police. No guns were found and no charges were laid against him. 

Sage declined an interview with The Brandon Sun, but he previously told the CBC he met Mitchell approximately seven years ago at a Tim Hortons. 

 

Oct. 24 — Brandon house explosion kills woman

By: Bud Robertson

A woman is dead and a man was sent to hospital in critical condition following an explosion at a house in Brandon.

The 63-year-old woman was found in the wreckage of the home on the 200 block of Queens Avenue East following the 7:50 p.m. blast, police said. The man, also 63, was airlifted to Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg.

Police investigators and the Office of the Fire Commissioner are investigating the cause of the explosion as a strong smell of natural gas was noted in the area upon the arrival of emergency workers.

 

The explosion shook nearby homes and forced some neighbours to be briefly evacuated.

Robert Hughes, 63, was subsequently charged with second-degree murder in the death of wife Betty Hughes.

 

Nov. 4 — Collision victim cherished by coworkers

By: The Brandon Sun

The Brandon woman killed in a car collision in the RM of Sifton is being fondly remembered by co-workers.

Alexandra LaFontaine, 25, died when her car collided with a semi-trailer.

In a Facebook post made by her employer, the Sobeys at Shoppers Mall, the store said that the meat department employee was “responsible, meticulous and passionate about what she did with Sobeys for the past eight years.”

LaFontaine was also described as having an “infectious personality” and an “incredible sense of humour.”

 

Nov. 6 — Twelve years for role in killing

By: Erin Debooy

MINNEDOSA — The families of both a woman charged with manslaughter and the man killed erupted into an emotional exchange in the gallery of a courtroom after a judge sentenced her to 12 years in prison.

“That’s not enough!” the mother of the victim yelled out in Minnedosa provincial court following the judge’s decision. “She should get 30 years!”

“That’s my daughter!” the mother of Kelsie LeSergent yelled in response, standing up and trying to walk toward them before being held back by other family and friends. “They have no right to say anything, my daughter is going away for something she didn’t do. … Shame on you!”

“That was my son,” the victim’s mother replied before breaking down, sobbing.

LeSergent, 21, pleaded guilty earlier this year to manslaughter for her role in the death of 62-year-old Leonard Maksymic, who was shot and killed in his home on Nov. 25, 2017.

 

Nov. 16 — Plumas rallies for children orphaned after house fire

By: Bud Robertson

The tiny community of Plumas is rallying to help four children orphaned after their parents and two-year-old sister died in a house fire earlier this month.

Following a meeting with a few community members, the Plumas Lions Club has taken on the task of collecting money to help the surviving children with immediate and future needs.

“It’s a heartbreaker,” said Sharni Schettler, president of the local Lions club.

“It’s a very small town, so even though we didn’t know the family very well, pretty much everybody knows everybody here,” she said.

Plumas is a community of approximately 240 people, 120 kilometres northeast of Brandon.

The fire in the family’s mobile home Nov. 8 claimed the life of 36-year-old BobbyJoe Lindsay, 28-year-old Jennifer McLeod and their two-year-old daughter Kinza.

Their four other children, ranging in age up to 12, were in school at the time.

The Office of the Fire Commissioner has determined the fire was caused by careless cooking. An investigation found there were no working smoke detectors in the house.

 

Nov. 29 — Penny a ‘business icon’ — remembering Don Penny

By: Drew May

Don Penny was a “force to be reckoned” with.

The active community member, co-founder of the accounting company formerly known as Meyers Norris Penny, and a recipient of the Order of Canada, died following a short illness. He was 80 years old.

Family spokesperson and granddaughter Olivia Auriat spoke to Penny’s death.

“He was always ‘the most.’ He was fearless. He was probably the only grandfather I’ve ever heard of who encouraged his two granddaughters to go backpacking alone. He loved life and he loved adventure and he taught us to do the same,” Auriat said.

“He encouraged us to go and do everything, to try everything, whether it was when people tried scuba diving, just anything you can think of, he would encourage us to go try it — just take a bite out of the apple, whatever it was.”

Penny was fully himself right up until he died, Auriat added.

Born and raised in Virden, Penny joined the Brandon firm Laird Sprague, the predecessor to MNP, in 1962, according to a release from the company. He joined the partnership in 1965 and became CEO of Meyers Norris Penny in 1977.

 

Dec. 13 — Police officer stabbed in the head with needle 

By: Erin Debooy

A woman was arrested after she allegedly stabbed a police officer in the head with a needle filled with an unknown substance and threatened to kill him.

Police were called to a disturbance at a residence on the 900 block of Queens Avenue, and the first responding officer could hear screaming from inside the home upon arrival.

When the officer entered, he was confronted with a woman brandishing a hypodermic needle loaded with an unknown substance, police said. She attacked the officer and stabbed him in the head with the needle.

Throughout the struggle, the woman allegedly said she wanted to kill the officer and encouraged others inside the home to kill him.

The officer was able to control the suspect until more officers could arrive and take her into custody.

 

Dec. 17 — Crown seeks life sentence 

By: Erin Debooy

The Crown has asked that a man be sent to prison for life after he tried to kill a fellow inmate in jail only a week after he received an 18-year sentence for shooting an RCMP officer.

“Mr. Racette-Beaulieu is a very dangerous individual,” Crown attorney Grant Hughes told the court.

“This type of behaviour has absolutely no place in our society, whether in custody or out. … Mr. Racette-Beaulieu is an individual who needs to be under some form of supervision for the remainder of his life.”

Therae Racette-Beaulieu, 21, pleaded guilty in Brandon provincial court to attempted murder.

On April 29, police were called to Brandon Correctional Centre after an inmate had been stabbed with a homemade shank numerous times by his cellmate, Racette-Beaulieu.