June 16, 2016 NEWS RELEASE One of Brandon’s oldest businesses set to close its doors For Immediate Release – Patmore Garden Center and Nursery has announced that they will be closing the business permanently this summer . Marci Bomford, current owner and horticulturalist, said that there were many factors that came into play when the decision was made to shut down the business.  “The costs involved in operating a greenhouse business are exceptionally challenging. Rising costs of things such as inputs, heat, labour and property taxes are all big components. Plus, the buildings and greenhouses are over 40 years old and in need of major repair and renovation,” said Bomford. n addition, Bomford said that things have changed significantly in the business world since Patmore’s originally opened over 133 years ago and that it’s much more challenging in today’s consumer market for small, local businesses to survive. “The increase in garden center presence in large, box stores has been a significant factor. Plants and other products that you used to be able to only find at specialized garden centres are now available everywhere and at loss leader pricing,” said Bomford. Patmore Nursery Sales has been in business in Brandon since 1883. Henry Patmore assisted in greening this part of the world by contributing to the planting of street trees, shelter belts and to the development of the Patmore Green Ash species. Bomford purchased the business in 2012 and has worked hard to ensure that quality products and outstanding service were part of the shopping experience for local gardeners. “I am a professional horticulturist and my dream and passion has always been to run my own garden center and nursery. We all poured our hearts into Patmore’s, but it was also about quality of life and family balance. It is certainly the end of a dream for many of us,” said Bomford. “I am so thankful to all the customers who have supported Patmore's for all these years. They are the reason we’ve stayed in business so long and it has truly been an honour to assist them in all of their gardening needs.” Patmore Garden Center and Nursery is scheduled to close for good on July 9. Customers are encouraged to use outstanding gift certificates prior to that, as they are only are valid while the business remains open. A final Closing Out Sale will start on June 18th. All inventory will be 50-75% off and everything must go. All sales will be final; cash or debit is preferred as there will be a 3% charge for credit card use. The new land owners will take possession of the property at the beginning of September, but they have no intentions of operating a garden center. For more information or to contact regarding an interview: Marci Bomford marci@patmorenursery.com 204.728.1321

Residents of the North Hill in Brandon, MB will shortly have a new dining option as Boston Pizza plans to open a second location here in the Wheat City. Construction is expected to start in two weeks.  The new location will be located directly behind the McDonalds on Middleton Ave and will quickly become a popular destination for guests of the area hotels as well travelers heading east or west along the Trans-Canada highway.   (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});  

When Direct Liquidation swings open its doors in Brandon, MB on Friday customers should know they can expect only the best.   Direct Liquidation, owned and operated by Darcy Willey, will open this Friday the 13th with a grand opening spectacular scheduled to take place on Saturday the 14th.  Willey said he was searching around the city for a space large enough to locate his type of business, when he noticed a vacant warehouse building that fit the bill.  The building -- a former Sobeys Cash & Carry location -- fit his needs. It had 10,200 square feet of space, a substantial parking lot and a ready-made warehouse to house his merchandise. Thanks to new relationships he has forged over the past several months Darcy plans to sell anything he can find a deal on, from beds to household supplies and from tools to camping supplies. These offerings will always vary, he said. "Every time you walk in here, you will be able to find something different." In addition to furniture, beds, patio furniture and other larger items, there are plenty of deals on everyday items including clothing, autographed sports prints, vases, tools, yard care items, toys, accessories, food items and more.  One look around the store and you quickly notice the brand names scattered throughout.  Mattresses from major brands like Sealy, Serta and Kingsdown fill the shelving to the west.  There is men’s and women’s clothing as far as the eye can see! Brand names such as Banana Republic, American Eagle, Tommy Hilfiger and more fill the racks! All new with original tags.  On-Tour golf shirts, available in all sizes, priced at only $2.00 per shirt.  Other brand names filling the shelves include recognizable names like Dyson, Beaver Canoe, Sunbeam, Coleman, and Danby. While the store officially opens on Friday, you don’t want to miss the events they have planned for the Saturday.  Included in the festivities for Saturday are three separate giveaways: a wine cooler, a Sealy mattress and a patio furniture set.  They are going to be having a Fort McMurray Charity BBQ on Saturday from noon to 5:00 pm including hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and soft drinks.  STAR-FM is scheduled to be onsite covering the charity BBQ starting at around 2:15 pm.  For the children there will be a bouncy castle setup on site. NOTES: Direct Liquation will be open Monday to Friday from 9:00 am -7:00 pm , Saturdays from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, and Sundays from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm. For more information, call Direct Liquidation at 204-717-SHOP (7467), email darcy@liquidated.ca, or visit their Facebook page.  Located at 205-16th Street North in Brandon, MB.   (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});  

Political junkies are constantly looking for a way to satiate their cravings. From March 16 to April 19, these addicts were on a constant high with the provincial election campaign. Now that the campaign is over — with a history-making Progressive Conservative thumping of the sad-sack governing NDP — the withdrawal symptoms are starting to show in the political peanut gallery. So now, pundits, players and “whimsical columnists” such as myself (the latter are former premier Gary Doer’s words) are turning to the guessing game of who will be in Premier-designate Brian Pallister’s cabinet. And it’s a fun game. The Top Tories will be an inner-circle of only 12 people, down from the NDP’s 18. It was one of Pallister’s cost-savings election promises. Now it’s fine and dandy to make that type of campaign pledge, but now the rubber hits the road for Pallister. With such a huge number of MLAs elected — 40 with 24 being new faces in the caucus — come swearing-in day May 3, there are bound to be some testy Tory reps who are left out. The rest of the caucus will be sworn in May 11. On the day after the thrilling election night, Pallister told the media he will make his picks based on merit, rather than trying to achieve gender parity. Why is gender parity such a top-of-mind topic for the media? Well the gender parity concept was instilled in the Canadian consciousness by the King of Political Correctness, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He made headlines in November when he appointed Canada’s first gender-balanced cabinet. Merit be damned. Affirmative action was now de rigueur in the most powerful boardroom in Canada. When asked why gender parity was so important to him, Trudeau said, “because it’s 2015.” Now while gender parity is a worthy goal indeed, it’s a stretch right now as there are simply not enough women running for office waving the PC Party flag (or getting elected if they do). Pallister has stated that gender parity in cabinet will take time. The Tories did run the largest number of women in the party’s history this past campaign. But after the votes were cast, the Tory caucus consists of eight women and 32 men. “As the father of two daughters I believe (women) should have equal opportunity in life, but they should also understand that merit is what matters most,” Pallister said. He avoided quipping: “And because it’s 2016.” Which would have been funny. Yeah, about as humorous as the “sacred cows” blooper he made at the start of the campaign. But I digress. With 16 incumbents to choose from, only two of the veterans are women. In recent media conferences Pallister would not commit to putting his two veteran female MLAs into cabinet. He would also not commit to having a cabinet rep from Brandon. So without further ado (drum roll please…) here’s my list: Steven Fletcher (Assiniboia) Reg Helwer (Brandon West) Myrna Driedger (Charleswood) Scott Fielding (Kirkfield Park) Blaine Pederson (Midland) Shannon Martin (Morris) Ian Wishart (Portage la Prairie) Rochelle Squires (Riel) Janice Morley Lecomte (Seine River) Kelvin Goertzen (Steinbach) Kelly Bindle (Thompson) Heather Stefanson (Tuxedo) Ron Schuler (St. Paul) without a doubt, should be Speaker. Elected in a secret ballot by all Members of the Assembly, the Speaker occupies the position of highest authority in the Legislative Assembly. And he gets to wear a cool tri-corner hat and judicial-style robes. My dozen picks give the Tories an equal balance between urban and rural (yes, Brandon is considered rural, geez), plus one-third of the cabinet will be women. All regions of the province are represented and Pallister can lean on his most experienced former Opposition critics to shoulder some weight in key portfolios. I’m not going to get into detailed reasons why each of my picks deserves to be in cabinet. Just to say I’m following Pallister’s lead on merit first and a natural need for a rural/urban balance for his first cabinet. In a couple of years, he can then tinker a bit and consider shuffling in people such as Jon Reyes (St. Norbert) of the provincial capital’s Filipino community or Alan Lagimodiere (Selkirk) and Bob Lagassé (Dawson Trail) who identify as Indigenous. This especially if some of his debut cabinet bright lights turn out to be falling stars. Most ministers in the new Tory cabinet will have to handle several portfolios, so their assistants and staff will likely come into play much more so than under the NDP regime. The deputy ministers, many of whom will likely stay on under the new Tory government — as they are supposed to be non-political career bureaucrats — will also have to vie for time on their minister’s busy schedules. Just for comparison to my cabinet picks, here are a couple of others that popped up after election night. I note that both selections only have a few different picks than mine, I placed them at the bottom of each list: Winnipeg Sun: Steven Fletcher (Assiniboia) Reg Helwer (Brandon West) Myrna Driedger (Charleswood) Scott Fielding (Kirkfield Park) Shannon Martin (Morris) Ian Wishart  (Portage la Prairie) Kelvin Goertzen (Steinbach) Kelly Bindle (Thompson) Heather Stefanson (Tuxedo) Cathy Cox (River East) Jon Reyes (St. Norbert) Ron Schuler (St. Paul) CBC Manitoba (only came up with 10 names): Steven Fletcher (Assiniboia) Myrna Driedger (Charleswood) Scott Fielding (Kirkfield Park) Ian Wishart (Portage La Prairie) Kelvin Goertzen (Steinbach) Kelly Bindle (Thompson) Heather Stefanson Tuxedo) Cathy Cox (River East) Ron Schuler (St. Paul) Len Isleifson (Brandon East) If you want to make your own fantasy cabinet, you can start here: http://www.electionsmanitoba.ca/en/Results/ENR

With the provincial election looming on Tuesday, the man who would be premier passed through Brandon to offer flowers and fighting words to campaign teams. Progressive Conservative Leader Brian Pallister also dropped by the Brandon Troyanda School of Ukrainian Dance’s festival at the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium. But before making small talk with the adorable costumed kids, Pallister gave marching orders to about 50 people crammed into Brandon East candidate Len Isleifson’s campaign headquarters on Richmond Avenue. For the first time in decades, the NDP-held Brandon East constituency might be turning Tory blue. If that happens, the party could hold every seat in Westman. Perhaps that’s why a quick visit to Brandon on a rainy Saturday morning was crammed into Pallister’s very full schedule. “We’re going to build the kind of government that Manitobans have been wanting for so long — not government from above, but a government beside, a government with the people, a government that listens to the people on the front lines,” Pallister said. “I want a government that listens to people. That’s our government. That’s what happens on Tuesday. It’s not just getting the power … it’s making sure we do the right things when we have it.” Addressing ongoing attacks from his opponents on his personal wealth — including frequent trips to his family’s second home in Costa Rica — Pallister said he worked hard all of his life to obtain what he and his wife Esther have. “I’m never going to apologize for finding success. Esther and I … come from modest backgrounds and we made our way up in life,” he told the crowd. “We worked hard, we studied hard, we borrowed a fair bit of money, we built a business and we created jobs. “We, like you, invested in a future, and we found it and we feel blessed about it. But I’ll be darned if I’m going to apologize for that. And I tell you what I want is a province where people can (also) find success in their lives too. Everybody deserves that chance.” That brought the loudest cheers from the assembled Tories, which included Brandon West MLA Reg Helwer, Spruce Woods MLA Cliff Cullen, Midland MLA Blaine Pedersen, Coun. Jeff Harwood (University) and Brandon-Souris MP Larry Maguire. Interestingly, Pallister brought bouquets of flowers for Isleifson and Helwer, as a symbol of thanks for the work of their campaigns to date. “A man giving men flowers shows how much of a modern man I am,” Pallister said with a smile. Yes, he was in a very jubilant mood. And the partisan crowd ate it up. All polls show the PC’s holding a substantial lead over the current NDP government, with the Liberals and Greens trailing even further behind. One recent poll even suggested a “mega-majority” could be waiting for the party on Tuesday night. Pallister wrapped up his short speech with an agriculture metaphor about the situation the Tories find themselves in. “We have a bumper crop sitting in the field right now and the people of Manitoba deserve to see that bumper crop in the bin,” Pallister said. “Because when we get into power, they’re going to find their yield is a lot better too. Better yields for their kids, better yields for their families as they age. “It all depends on the next few hours. Everything does. Get those combines out in the fields!”