Last Wednesday, August 12th, Brandon's Trevor Thompson was in a freak bike accident on a remote trail in Riding Mountain National Park. He was immediately paralyzed from the neck down. With no cell service, it took hours to get help and paramedics to arrive, and he was airlifted by STARS to HSC in Winnipeg. Later, he regained some motor control and feeling and was scheduled for emergency surgery. After this kind of trauma and major spinal surgery performed on Saturday, his doctors are confident he will regain mobility with time, rehabilitation, and physiotherapy. Friends & family are hoping for the best, but know this will be a very long road to recovery. Trevor leads an active busy life; raising 3 girls, camping at Sporty’s, fishing, biking, hiking, kayaking, boating, refereeing volleyball, physically training, etc. and as you know he is STUBBORN — he will fight to get it all back. Trevor will have sick leave and disability coverage if needed, but there will be shortfalls They have 3 teenage girls at home: one in College, Grade 12, and Grade 9. A  Go Fund Me was setup (by Tracy & Dallis Wray) to help alleviate the financial stress the family is facing, so they can focus on recovery and their family. This will help to cover additional living and travel expenses for Sandra, and the partial loss of income while off work. We don’t know right now how long Trevor will need our support.

Source: Brandon Police Service Media Release At 11 am, Saturday morning, police attended the Assiniboine River adjacent to the bridge on Highway 110 regarding a complaint of a vehicle in the water.  The vehicle was unoccupied and when removed from the river, found to be stolen from Souris.

The Manitoba government is releasing practice guidance and protocols to ensure students, teachers and families know what to expect upon returning to classrooms in September and to provide consistency across schools, Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen announced today. “The safety and health of students and staff, and their families, are the priority as Manitoba returns to in-class learning,” said Goertzen. “These protocols, in accordance with Public Health advice, will be implemented by all school divisions as part of the Manitoba government’s detailed guidance.” The protocols include additional Public Health advice regarding the use of masks at schools. It is strongly recommended that students in grades 5 to 12, school staff and others in schools wear non-medical masks in common areas and where physical distancing of two metres is not possible. Younger students can also use non-medical masks if they or their parents or caregivers so choose. Non-medical masks should not be worn by anyone who is unable to remove one without assistance or by those with breathing difficulties. All students in Grade 5 and up, and bus drivers, will be required to wear non-medical masks on school buses. Masks should be put on before loading and taken off after off-loading. The province will provide masks to school divisions for distribution to students and staff, as well as other personal protective equipment to ensure safe and healthy schools, Goertzen noted. Manitoba Education’s Practice Guidance and Protocols for Restoring Safe Schools has been prepared in response to school division and independent school planning for the return to classroom learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The protocols are fully consistent with provincial Public Health and Health Canada guidance. “Public Health officials worked closely with Manitoba Education and are confident this plan balances the safety of students with the importance of returning to classroom learning,” said Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s chief provincial public health officer. “As always, the simplest and most effective prevention measures are staying home when sick, practising proper hand hygiene, covering your cough, and not sharing items with others.” Should a case of COVID-19 occur at a school, Public Health will work closely with school administrators to identify close contacts, notify them and advise them to self-isolate. The areas of a school where exposures took place will be cleaned and disinfected, and these areas will not be used until it is determined safe to do so. School communities will be notified when a student at their school is a confirmed case, once close contacts have been identified. A closure of a school would be a last resort and only with evidence of transmission among multiple groups of students or staff, Roussin noted. School divisions will post their individual plans during the week of Aug. 17 for the return to schools and the plans will be linked to the Manitoba Education website. Each division’s plan will outline procedures for following Public Health orders and guidelines, for addressing the mental health and well-being of the school community, and for communicating information to students, staff and families. “The goal of the Restoring Safe Schools plan is to maximize in-class learning while maintaining a focus on safety,” said Goertzen. “Parents and students need to know there is a process in place in the event students become ill and how their safety will be maintained.” The province will work closely with Public Health, education stakeholders, school divisions, independent schools, parents, caregivers and students to ensure consistent, timely and responsive information, and to act on issues as they arise. The EngageMB website at https://engagemb.ca/welcoming-our-students-back-restoring-safe-schools will remain the best forum for parents, caregivers and students to post questions for response throughout the return to classroom learning. In addition, a telephone town hall for parents, caregivers and students is scheduled for Aug. 18 with Roussin and Goertzen. For more information on COVID-19, www.manitoba.ca/covid19/ or Manitoba Education’s latest COVID-19 Education News website at www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/covid/index.html. (Province of MB News Release)

Source: Brandon Police Service Media Release At 1:57pm, police responded to a vehicle vs pedestrian collision at the intersection of 18th Street and McTavish Ave.  A north bound vehicle struck an adult male pedestrian who was walking westbound through the pedestrian corridor.  The male was transported to the hospital in serious condition where he was held for observation.  His condition later improved and he was released from hospital.  The incident is still under investigation pending the report from the traffic analyst.

Source: Brandon Police Service Media Release A 30 year old man from Austin was arrested on Monday morning for numerous offences after three incidents on the weekend. Around 1:24 am on August 9th, an officer stopped a vehicle travelling the wrong direction on Princess Ave. The male driver provided his identification and then drove off. The officer pursued the vehicle, however due to high speeds, the pursuit was cancelled on Rosser Ave. The owner of the vehicle was located who advised the male driver had taken the vehicle. He was on a court order to not communicate with the r/o as well. At 11:14 am on Sunday, the female owner of the vehicle called police to report the man had assaulted her and stolen the vehicle in the parking lot of the Brandon Shoppers Mall. After stealing the vehicle, the man drove through the parking lot erratically and the wrong way on 18th St south. He left the area and could not be located. At 9:40 pm, an officer noticed the suspect vehicle in a parking lot on Willowdale Crs. As the officer stopped his police cruiser, the driver sat up in the front seat, reversed the vehicle, striking the police cruiser and fled at a high rate of speed. The suspect vehicle was briefly pursued but due to high rate of speeds the pursuit was stopped.   Warrants for all three of these incidents were requested. On Monday morning, the Brandon RCMP were advised by a caller that the suspect was in a residence in Souris. He was arrested there by the RCMP and turned over to BPS. On Monday afternoon, he appeared in court and was released for a later court date. The charges include Flight from Police x 2, Dangerous Operation of a Motor Vehicle x 3 , Drive Prohibited x 3, Breach of Undertaking x 3, Assault (Domestic), Theft of Motor Vehicle, Take Motor Vehicle w/o Owners Consent.