Capture your holiday memories and receive a festive photo taken with Santa at Crow's General Store. Get your photo taken with Santa with you or your whole family. The event will take place on Monday, December 2, 2019 (6-8pm) and appointments are required. Sessions will be booked in 10 minute blocks and spots will be limited. The cost per session is $30 and includes a 10 min appointment, 2 digital photos, and hot chocolate for the whole family. For additional information on Crows General Store, click here. For more information, or to book a photo session with Santa, click here.

Source: Brandon Police Service Media Release At about 8:25 PM Friday evening, a vehicle stop was conducted in the 700 block Rosser Avenue. During the stop, a can of pepper spray was located in the area occupied by a 26 year-old male.  Also located within the vehicle were several ounces of cocaine and paraphernalia consistent with trafficking. As a result of the investigation, a 39 year-old female from Brandon was released on appropriate police imposed conditions, and is to appear in court on January 9th facing one charge of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. The male was held in custody and will appear today on charges of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, possession of a weapon, and failing to comply with recognizance order, as he is currently bound by an order not to have any contact or communication with the female involved.

Source: Brandon Police Service Media Release On April 28, 2019, police received a report of an assault, which occurred within a residence. The suspect was from a rural address, but had attended Brandon to search for his ex-girlfriend. He found her at the residence of another male by following her information on Snap Map, which is a location sharing feature on the Snapchat app. The resident opened the door to speak with the suspect, and the suspect soon refused to leave the residence when told to. The suspect proceeded to assault the other male by choking him, and punching him. The investigation led police to the discovery of the suspect’s identity and whereabouts. On November 7, 2019, the 21-year-old male suspect turned himself into police. He was arrested and will appear in court on January 2, 2020 on charges of Unlawfully in a Dwelling, Assault, and Choking to Overcome Resistance.

Tougher and more timely consequences for drinking and driving in Manitoba will come into effect Dec. 16 including new sanctions that will see drivers temporarily lose their vehicles for registering a ‘warn’ on an approved screening device, Justice Minister Cliff Cullen announced today. “Impaired drivers are still taking the lives of Manitobans and we need to do more to make sure people get the message that this is unacceptable,” said Cullen.  “Immediate roadside prohibition ensures on-the-spot consequences for making the poor decision to drink and drive.  The consequences are clear – impaired drivers will lose their licence, their vehicle and face significant financial penalties.” The new approach, called immediate roadside prohibition, increases sanctions for drivers who register a ‘warn’ level on an approved screening device.  It also provides a faster alternative to the breathalyzer test and resolves matters outside of the criminal justice system for drivers who refuse or fail an approved screening device test for the first time.  However, the immediate roadside prohibition approach is not intended to be used in cases where the impaired driver kills or injures another person or if there are other significant aggravating circumstances. The new sanctions for drivers who register a ‘warn’ on an approved screening device include a new monetary penalty of $400 for a first violation, escalating to $500 for a second violation and $600 for a third or subsequent violation.  The timeframe for vehicle impoundments also escalate, from three days for a first violation, seven days for a second, or 30 days for a third or subsequent violation. For first-time impaired drivers who register a ‘fail’ on an approved screening device and cause no bodily injury or death, police will have discretion to impose a $700 monetary penalty as well as a mandatory ignition interlock of one year rather than proceeding with a criminal charge.  The new sanctions would be comparable to those applied post-conviction and would be applied on top of the existing pre-conviction 90-day licence suspension, 30-day vehicle impoundment and mandatory remedial programming. Individuals who refuse the screening will face the same sanctions as a ‘fail’, with vehicle impoundment extending to 60 days.  In addition, a ‘warn’ reading will result in the driver receiving five demerits on their Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) driver safety rating scale, increasing to 10 demerits for either a ‘fail’ or refusal. The sanctions for first-time refusals or drunk drivers who register a ‘fail’ on an approved screening device, are only intended to apply where the case does not involve serious bodily injury or death, or other aggravating factors. Under the new approach, testing a suspected impaired driver can take as little as six minutes.  This is significantly less than the time required to administer a breathalyzer test and process an impaired driver for criminal charges, which is often up to four hours. “Collisions caused by impaired drivers continue to kill and cause significant injuries to far too many Manitobans.  These collisions are entirely preventable and it’s time we look at new ways of getting these dangerous drivers off our roads,” said Assistant Commissioner Jane MacLatchy, commanding officer of the Manitoba RCMP.  “Without a doubt, the immediate roadside suspensions will be a powerful tool that will help our officers to quickly remove impaired drivers from Manitoba roads, making our highways and roadways safer for all.” Adding up all the administrative sanctions and monetary penalties, the minimum cost for a ‘warn’ will range from $700 for a first violation to $3,420 for a third or subsequent violation.  The minimum cost for a ‘fail’ will be $3,520 and the minimum cost for refusal of the approved screening device will be $3,970.  A provincewide public education campaign by Manitoba Public Insurance, focused on impaired driving and immediate roadside prohibition approach, will be launched later this month. The immediate roadside prohibition approach was implemented in British Columbia in 2010.  It has been credited with helping to save 351 lives and reduced alcohol-related deaths by 50 per cent in that province.  It has had a similar impact on alcohol-related injuries and collisions.  This model is strongly supported by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Canada. “MADD Canada fully supports the expansion of immediate roadside prohibitions in Manitoba,” said Andrew Murie, chief executive officer, MADD Canada.  “Having quick, strong, short-term sanctions offers a powerful deterrent to those who might otherwise drive impaired.  We welcome these new provisions, and thank the government for its leadership in helping to reduce impaired driving and make roads safer.” The minister noted this legislation also supports the objectives of the recently released Public Safety and Policing Strategy by ensuring police can spend more time on policing and less on administration.  The strategy is online at www.gov.mb.ca/justice/pubs/police_publicsafety_strategy.pdf. “We strongly believe this approach will allow police officers to get back on the road sooner, allowing them to catch more impaired drivers and keep all of us safer,” said Cullen. In 2018, 70 people were killed and 437 were seriously injured in traffic collisions in Manitoba on public roadways.  Impaired driving accounted for 40 per cent of those killed.  Already this year, at least 10 people have lost their lives because of an impaired driver.' (Province of Manitoba News Release)

An estimated 6ft high hole was left in the wall of Vincent Massey High School after a vehicle plowed into it on the west side of the building Wednesday evening. Student's lockers could be seen through the opening in the wall. Workers were seen clearing brick and other debris from the hallway inside the school, as well as from the grass outside. The vehicle had already been removed from the scene when the workers were present. Photos by Liam Pattison Photography.