NewLeaf Airlines has hit turbulence again. This time, they have taken to Facebook to write a "Dear John" letter and break up with Canadian snowbirds. In the letter addressed to Canadians the company President/CEO, Jim Young, states that they are backing out of the promised routes to Mesa, Arizona and Melbourne/Orlando, Florida. They simply can't do it. He cites, 3rd party, outside influences (AKA another big Canadian airline who also flies blue tail colours) as the reason. To quote his letter directly, "When an airline in Canada found out that NewLeaf was servicing Phoenix-Mesa they too decided to follow our schedule. Within hours, of NewLeaf’s announcement this airline had also lowered its fares and offered service to an airport it had previously ignored for over a decade. We are very sorry Alberta, but we cannot offer service to Phoenix-Mesa this year. This is a classic case of the big guy squishing the little guy so that the big guy can profit more." In a nutshell, it's a classic breakup letter.... blah blah blah something has come between us. Sorry we can't be together on vacation. I still love you. Hope we can still be friends. Read the letter for yourself https://www.facebook.com/pg/newleaftravel/posts/ And, as within any unfortunate break-up, expect backlash. There will be name calling, hurt feelings, gossip. Other angry ex-customers will come out of the woodwork. Customers will turn to the comfort of other airlines for their hot vacation needs and NewLeaf memories will become just another page in a scrapbook.    

Brandon Police Service arrested a 38-year old Brandon woman for Impaired Driving, as well as for Domestic Assault, after she drove into the BPS parking lot demanding police arrest her husband. The accused would not share any information with Police, including what was going on, or her name. Police, upon further inspection, determined she showed of impairment. In a bizarre twist, a male gets out of the vehicle and walks into the station with scratches to his face alleging that the accused had assaulted him, after a night long domestic dispute. At that point the woman was arrested and is scheduled to appear in court January 5, 2017.  The incident took place just before noon on Sunday.

On Christmas Eve, at approximately 3:00 am, Dauphin RCMP were on patrol when they noticed smoke coming from a house in the 300 block of 2nd Avenue NE. The Dauphin Fire Department were quickly dispatched and the home was immersed in flames upon arrival. Upon searching and clearing the first floor looking for potential occupants, the heat, smoke, and visibility played havoc with the firefighters attempts to search and clear the second floor. Once the fire had been deemed under control the second floor was searched and cleared, and no one was located in the home. Eventually the fire was brought under control at 9:30 am and crews remained on-site until early afternoon to help with the investigation and to ensure all spot fires inside the structure were completely extinguished. According to the Dauphin Firefighters report the house is a complete loss and the fire was determined to be suspicious in nature following the investigation by the Manitoba Office of the Fire Commissioner. Anyone with any information regarding this incident are asked to contact the Dauphin RCMP at 204-622-5050.   Photo: Dauphin Fire Department

Every little bit counts. It really does! And in this case, two dollar donations, pre-made hampers, community and corporate generosity added up to just under $27,000 for Samaritan House. Safeway and Sobeys stores in Brandon held a Thanksgiving and Christmas campaign this fall, where customers and staff were asked to donate ($2 or more) as they purchased their groceries. People were also able to contribute by purchasing pre-made hampers at the Safeway location. The funds were then matched by Sobeys Corporate for a grand total of $26,979. A cheque presentation was held today. Gregory Gingras, Sobeys West franchisee was delighted to be able to offer Samaritan House the much needed funds at this time of year. "It gives them the purchasing power they need at the time when they need it most." He notes "it's our (Safeway/Sobeys) mission to help Canadians eat better, feel better, do better and so our work with Brandon's Samaritan House is so very important to us. And in turn, the work of Samaritan House is far reaching and serves to keep this money in our local community and make it stronger."    

Effective March 1st, 2017 The Royal Oak Inn and Suites will no longer be part of the Brandon hotel landscape.   Genesis Hospitality, who own and operate the Royal Inn, will make the move on March 1st to embrace the Clarion Hotel and Suites concept.  The Clarion brand is franchised by Choice Hotels Canada, the nation’s largest hotel franchisor. For more information, visit www.ChoiceHotels.ca. Aaron Tycoles, the GM of the Royal Oak Inn told BDNMB.CA today that negotiations started last spring with Clarion and they felt it was the best fit for their property.  The Royal Oak has under gone recent improvements and renovations to their standard rooms over the past 2 years, and will continue these renovations to meet the standards of the Clarion brand as outlined in the agreement.  The Royal Oak Inn & Suites currently has 156 rooms, 51 of them suites. Genesis Hospitality Inc. owns and operates 10 hotels in Brandon, Winnipeg, Flin Flon, Hamilton, Mississauga, Owen Sound, Thunder Bay and Vaughan. According to the media release the 150 employees, and staff, will not be affected and it will be business as usual. Kevin Swark, Executive Vice President for Genesis Hospitality Inc. says, “Genesis is ecstatic to join the Choice and Clarion hotel family, we have been working diligently over the past two years in order to re-position the hotel  as well we are looking forward to growing our online presence, and welcoming their 1.5 million Choice Privileges members to stay with us.”   We’re proud to welcome Genesis Hospitality Inc. into the Choice Hotels family,” said Brian Leon, managing director, Choice Hotels Canada. “We’re excited to expand our excellent reputation of value and guest experience that Choice Hotels offers in Manitoba. The continued growth of the Clarion brand is a strong indication of our consumer’s desire for affordable and convenient meeting space for business and social gatherings.” The change to Clarion will not affect the current operation of Echo Restaurant or Houston’s Night Club, which are both part of the current operation at the hotel.     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});