Source: Brandon Police Service Media Release On Sunday morning, a homeowner in the 700 block of 12 Street reported that her garage was broken into sometime overnight.  It is unknown if anything was stolen.  The investigation is continuing. On Sunday morning, a homeowner in the 400 block of 12th Street reported that her garage and sunroom were broken into sometime overnight.  Numerous items were stolen including clothing and a bicycle from the garage.  The investigation is continuing. On Sunday morning, a homeowner in the 600 block of 11th Street reported that his garage was broken into sometime overnight.  Two lawnmowers were stolen.  The investigation is continuing. On Sunday morning, a homeowner in the 700 block of 13th Street reported that her garage, shed and vehicle were broken into sometime overnight.  It is unknown if anything was stolen.  The investigation is continuing. On Sunday evening, a homeowner in the 700 block of 21st Street reported going outside and finding two males had entered her garage.  The males fled the area and were not located.  Nothing was taken during the incident.  The investigation is ongoing.

Source: Brandon Police Service Media release At approx. 1:35 PM Friday, police were called to the 900 block of 7th Street for a highly intoxicated male who had smashed a window of a residence there.  The incident was recorded on video, which allowed police to identify the suspect when he was located near 15th St and Park Ave.  The male was held until sober, and has been released with a court date of February 25 2021.

An intense and frightening t-bone crash happened between a garbage truck and a small SUV on Friday afternoon. Brandon Fire & Emergency Services along with Brandon Police Service responded to 17th St. East and Victoria Ave East for the two vehicle collision. A garbage truck had t-boned a small SUV which sent both vehicles crashing up onto the curb median of Victoria Ave East. A large fluid spill accumulated from both vehicles which prompted the need for a City of Brandon loader to respond to the scene with a bucket of sand. On duty BFES Fire Captain Shayne Collister said just the two drivers were involved, and that the driver of the SUV was taken to hospital by ambulance. Brandon Police's traffic division was on scene conducting an investigation. Police are on scene of a motor vehicle collision at the intersection of 17th St E and Victoria Ave E. Trafffic is being deverted and we ask that you avoid the area. #bdnmb — Brandon Police (@BrandonPolice) December 4, 2020

Community Futures Westman has administered interest free loans for 35 Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME) in Western Manitoba totaling $1.25 million since the RRRF program launched in May.   The Western Diversification funding program is intended to provide support to businesses who are ineligible for other government COVID-19 relief measures.  In early December, $500,000 in additional funds have been received and applications continue to be received. “With so many SMEs impacted by COVID-19 our staff went the extra mile to meet the demand for RRRF loans over the summer and are ready to meet the needs of new clients now that additional funds have been provided to us”, indicates Community Futures Westman Chairperson Gerald Cathcart. “SME’s are the backbone of the region and as such their survival and success are vital to the local economy through recovery and ongoing growth and prosperity” explained Executive Director Andrew Arksey, “Support for small business through the RRRF and other CF programs is paramount as we navigate the effects of COVID-19, the role we can play in that will be vital.” RRRF Loans of up to $40,000 have been provided to qualifying applicants at 0% (zero) interest, with no scheduled principal payments until January 2023. Principal repayments can be made at any time and 25% of the loan can be forgiven provided the recipient has paid 75% of the original loan amount prior to December 31, 2022. The Community Futures Program has been serving rural communities for over 30 years. Each office operates as an individual non-profit corporation, with its own volunteer board of directors and its own portfolio of lending products and services.  To learn more about the financing and business support services available through Community Futures Westman please contact: Community Futures Westman Email: arkseya@cfwestman.ca Website: www.cfmanitoba.ca/westman (submitted)

When faced with the difficulties of a Covid world, the United Way worked harder on making sure their annual Holiday Tree Auction still happened.  Due to the current Code Red health ordered restrictions, the auction was held virtually with great success. Utilizing a Zoom webinar platform, many of the 28 participants were able to bid on the trees by simply entering a “y” in it’s chat window.  Seen in real time, auctioneer Jesse Campbell of Fraser Auction Services was able to drive the values up steadily. In total, $20,820.00 was raised and will go towards for the United Way’s annual campaign.  One of the entries, from Remax Valleyview Realty, garnished a $10,000 winning bid! Overall, twelve local businesses each entered items into the auction.  Each contained a tree, decorations and an assortment of gifts, which were wrapped and ready for delivery. Throughout Thursday, the companies used their scheduled times to drop off their items at the Victoria Inn’s Imperial Ballroom, keeping socially distant and safe.  Today, those will all be collected and delivered by United Way staff & a volunteer, as well as a service employee familiar with the recipient. For more information on the Holiday Tree Auction, and other United Way Brandon & District news, please contact their office at 204-571-8929.  Emails can be sent to office@brandonuw.ca (submitted)