Vincent Massey will be hosting it's 4th Annual Stuff the Bus in support of Samaritan House this December. The event kicked-off Monday, December 3rd and will run until Monday, December 17th.  Students from Massey's youth Revolution and Youth in Philanthropy will be helping to stuff the bus on Tuesday, December 18th from 9-10:00am and they will be delivering the closed items to Samartian House immediately following. Their goal is to completely fill one school bus with donations from our school community in order to give back to our community.  Staff and students at Massey hope to help to meet the growing need for hampers in Brandon.

Source:  Brandon Police Service Media Release On Sunday evening at approximately 6:13pm, a 911 call was received from a female who had been on the phone with her ex-boyfriend. He told for her to call the Police to attend to his residence in the 3500 block of Willowdale Crescent. Police attended to the residence and could hear someone yelling for help, Police forced the door open to get inside the residence. Police observed the victim being held in a choke hold by one of the suspects and they were demanding to know where his cash was hidden. Police apprehended three people for Break and Enter and Commit Robbery with Violence. A 31yr old Chanupawakpa First Nation man was arrested for Break and Enter, Commit Robbery with Violence and Warrant of Arrest for Forcible Confinement, Mischief Under and Fail to Appear for Court x2. The male was lodged at BCC to appear in Court on December 03rd. A 30yr old Chanupawakpa First Nation woman was arrested for Break and Enter and Commit Robbery with Violence and released to appear in Court on January 31st, 2019. A 26yr old Chanupawakpa First Nation man was arrested for Break and Enter and Commit Robbery with Violence and released to appear in Court on January 31st, 2019.

The Manitoba government is launching a new online Young Worker Readiness Certificate Course to teach youth the basics about workers’ and employers’ rights and responsibilities for safety and health in the workplace, Growth, Enterprise and Trade Minister Blaine Pedersen announced today. “Having a job can be a fulfilling experience for youth as it can provide a sense of accomplishment and responsibility,” said Pedersen.  “This course contains important information everyone should know before getting their first job.”   The interactive course is based on Saskatchewan’s successful youth readiness course and is tailored for Manitoba.  It will help aspiring young workers to: •    understand more about the work world and where to go for information about workplace safety and health; •    examine a pay statement; •    learn about workplace expectations and responsibilities and practice problem solving; and   •    know workers’ and employers’ rights and responsibilities for keeping workplaces safe, and how to recognize and address common workplace hazards. “At SAFE Work Manitoba, we recognize how vital this initiative is for Manitoba's youngest workers,” said Jamie Hall, chief operating officer of SAFE Work Manitoba.  “The course will help keep young workers safe.  Young workers can be more vulnerable to injuries as they haven’t had work experience and don’t necessarily know the potential hazards of the workplace.  When they’re well-informed, everyone is one step closer to coming home safe at the end of the day.” Employers seeking to hire a worker under the age of 16 are required to confirm the successful completion of the course and keep a copy of the certificate as an employment record.  The certificate of completion is transferable to different employers, meaning youth only need to complete the course once.    “The new online training course will better prepare young Manitobans for entering the workforce and help keep them safe,” said Pedersen.   The course replaces an outdated process where employers were required to apply for a government permit to hire a young worker between the ages of 13 and 15, regardless of type of work.  Manitoba was the only province in Canada that required such a permit, which created red tape headaches for employers and was difficult to enforce, Pedersen said. “This initiative is designed to enhance the knowledge and safety consciousness ‎of young workers, which we hope will help create a lifetime culture of safety among young Manitobans,” said Bill Gardner, chair of the Manitoba Employers Council. The minister noted a person must be 13 years of age to work in Manitoba and employers must follow rules to protect the safety and health of young people in the workplace.   Young people who are 13, 14 or 15 years of age are not permitted to work: •    on a construction site; •    in industrial or manufacturing processes; •    on drilling or servicing rigs; •    on scaffolds or swing stages; •    pruning, repairing, maintaining, or removing trees or shrubs; •    at heights more than 1.5 metres; •    with herbicides or pesticides; or •    without direct adult supervision. Additionally, 13 year olds cannot work with dangerous tools or machinery, such as knives, slicers or deep fryers, in the food preparation industry. There are also restrictions on the hours a person under 16 years of age can work.  Young people aged 13, 14, or 15 cannot work between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., and cannot work more than 20 hours per week during a school week.   Youth can now complete the Young Worker Readiness Certificate Course online at https://ywrcc.safemanitoba.com/.   The course is administered by the Manitoba government and was developed in partnership with SAFE Work Manitoba.

Source:  Brandon Police Service Media Release On November 24th 2018, police attended the area of the Brandon Experimental Farm on Grand Valley Road to assist Natural Resources for a complaint of a male poaching deer.  The male fled the scene from police and a short pursuit was initiated.  The pursuit was abandoned as it entered the city limits as being too dangerous to the public and the offender was not apprehended.  On Saturday morning, the suspect, a 30-year-old male from Virden, was seen by police in Brandon and eventually apprehended without incident in the parking lot of a business on 18th Street.  A search of the male’s vehicle revealed a loaded hunting rifle with ammunition and a partial deer carcass.  The male is charged with dangerous driving, flight from police; possess a firearm knowing its possession is unauthorized, unauthorized possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle, and theft.  The male was released from police custody and will appear in court in January.  Natural Resource officers will be following up with their own investigation with cooperation with the Brandon Police.

Brandon, MB – The City of Brandon’s Community Services Department is pleased to inform the public that the Manitoba Hydro Power Smart Waterfall of Lights display will officially be turned on for the 2018-2019 winter season today at 5 p.m. The sparkling display of holiday lighting is located immediately west of the City of Brandon’s Community Services Complex on McGregor Avenue. As of this evening, the display will be turned on and will remain lit from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. nightly through the winter season. NO public vehicles are allowed in the direct area of the Power Smart Waterfall of Lights display. The public is encouraged to park in designated areas on McGregor Avenue or Hilton Avenue and walk through the area to view the lights. The City of Brandon Community Services Department asks all members of the public to enjoy the lighting displays at a safe distance and not to walk in areas where power cords are present. Today also marks the official opening of the Hanbury Hill toboggan hill, located just off Braecrest Drive in Sir Winston Churchill Park. Hanbury Hill’s warm-up gazebo will now be open from the hours of 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., while decorative lighting and flood lighting is turned on each evening from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. for the duration of the season. Other toboggan hills available for public use include ones in Rideau Park and at the Wheat City Golf Course/Recreation Centre, and smaller sliding hills include the 34th Street & Cherry Crescent Sliding Hill and the Parkdale Park Sliding Hill. Due to the construction activity currently underway at the Wheat City Golf Course/Recreation Centre, all members of the public are asked to keep away from all fenced-in areas and watch carefully for heavy machinery coming and going from the area. Families are encouraged to enjoy all the above mentioned free winter recreation offerings; however, the City of Brandon would note that all are unsupervised areas. Meanwhile, Community Services crews continue preparation on the popular public skating oval along McGregor Avenue, with a tentative ice opening date of Friday, December 14th. The community is asked to respect all signage and barricades as preparation of the oval continues and to stay off the ice surface until it is ready for public use. For more information on public winter activities provided by the City of Brandon’s Community Services Department, call 204-729-2148