BRANDON—Senior citizens in western Manitoba have a new 63-unit property to call home, so they can live independently in the community. Today, representatives from federal, provincial and municipal governments attended its grand opening, along with the local co-operative that led its development. “Access to safe, affordable housing is a priority for our government and Manitobans,” said Families Minister Heather Stefanson. “We are proud of the partnerships with the federal government, City of Brandon and West-Man Seniors Housing Co-op that led to the grand opening of this important project that will better the lives of Brandon seniors and the community.” The Canada and Manitoba governments provided more than $3.1 million toward this $14 million project through the Investment in Affordable Housing (IAH) extension agreement.  The four-storey property, located at 2105 Brandon Ave., features 48 affordable housing units and 15 units with rental rates set at market value. “Our government recognizes the importance of caring for our aging citizens,” said member of Parliament Doug Eyolfson, who attended on behalf of the Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos, federal minister of families, children and social development and minister responsible for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). “This is why we are pleased to announce the official opening of 2105 Brandon Avenue, a new affordable housing development which will enable more seniors from this community to age independently, close to family and friends.” The City of Brandon provided the property at 2105 Brandon Ave., valued at $920,000, at no cost and other support totalling more than $600,000. “The City of Brandon is proud to be a partner in this affordable housing project,” said Deputy Mayor Jeff Fawcett, who attended today’s grand opening on behalf of Mayor Rick Chrest. “At the heart of Brandon’s Affordable Housing Strategy is the philosophy that no one community group or organization can go it alone when it comes to improving the affordable housing landscape, and the many different partnerships forged to make 2105 Brandon Ave. a reality is the embodiment of that philosophy at work in our community.” The housing project was developed and will be managed by Western Manitoba Seniors Non-Profit Housing Co-op Ltd., which was established in 2009 to provide safe, comfortable, affordable and accessible housing for seniors in Brandon. The co-op also manages a 34-unit affordable seniors’ housing property on McDiarmid Drive. “Our proud co-operative volunteers would like to thank everyone who helped bring this project to completion, who worked hard to make this dream a reality for the people now living at 2105 Brandon Ave.,” said Harvey Douglas, president and chair of the co-op expansion committee.  “This building provides accessible, affordable, safe and secure independent housing that is also pet-friendly and smoke-free, for lower to mid-income senior citizens, allowing them to age in place gracefully. We will continue to look forward for more opportunities to provide housing options for these important community members.” Tenants began moving into the building in early May, which features common areas on each floor, an outdoor sitting area and a shared garden. The building meets Manitoba’s visitable and accessible design standards and Manitoba Hydro’s PowerSmart designation. As Canada’s authority on housing, CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need, and offers unbiased housing research and advice to all levels of Canadian government, consumers and the housing industry. For more information, visit cmhc.ca or follow them on Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook.  To find out more about the National Housing Strategy, visit: www.placetocallhome.ca. Manitoba Housing, part of Manitoba Families, provides a wide range of safe and affordable housing options throughout the province, often in partnership with other governments, community organizations and private agencies.  For more information, visit: www.gov.mb.ca/housing.

Source:  Brandon Police Service Media Release At approximately 1:35 p.m., Monday afternoon Police attended to a business in the 300 Block of 9th street on a report that a male with an outstanding Warrant of Arrest was currently at that location. Police arrested the male inside the building and as he was being escorted out he fled on foot. The officer pursued and the male suspect was eventually captured after he unlawfully entered a residence in 300 Block of 7th street. The 22-year-old male was further charged with Escape Lawful Custody and Unlawfully in a Dwelling. He was lodged at the Brandon Correctional Centre and is scheduled to appear in Court today.

Food Truck Warz and BDNMB.CA were pleased in year one to involve Westman Dreams for Kids and their 50–50 draw which generated over $3,500.00 for their charity last year.  We have expanded this year to include 4 local charities to help fund-raise and create awareness for their programs. We would like to thank everyone in advance for supporting these and other local charities. Career Connections Inc. -  Career Connections is very excited to be a part of Food Truck Warz this year by running the beer gardens.  Career Connections is an employment training center here in Brandon providing a full range of employment options for individuals with barriers to employment. This event will be our main fundraising event this year, with all proceeds going back into programming. Dreams for Kids: We are extremely excited to be the charity offering the 50/50 draw at the 2018 Food Truck Warz! We love taking part in events in our community and this event allows us to been seen by so many people, giving our volunteers the opportunity to let people know who we are and how we help families in Westman. The 50/50 is such a huge fundraising opportunity for us. The proceeds raised will stay right here in Westman go to granting Dreams for children living with serious health concerns and disabilities in Westman. Darryl has always been such a great supporter of Westman Dreams for Kids, thank you for inviting us to be a part of this awesome event! Pawsitive Communities – We are so grateful to Jody and Darryl and Food Truck Warz for the opportunity to be a part of their event. Our program is non-profit and completely funded by donations and various fundraisers so we are excited to be a part of something like this where we can educate the public on who we are, what we do, and hopefully raise some money while doing it. We look forward to seeing everyone there! We are also a Brandon Humane Society mobile spay and neuter program aimed at helping animals in First Nations communities. We will be attending Food Truck Warz 2018 with our “Adopt/Adopt Don’t Shop” clothing for sale, and a puppy play area with adoptable cuties we rescued from our last spay and neuter clinic. We look forward to chatting with the public about who we are and raising some money for animals in need! Sprucewoods Housing Co-Op: - We are a non-profit affordable housing complex that is geared for low income families and seniors.  We have been a part of the Brandon Community for 32 years - helping those in need of housing.  Sprucewoods is in need of updating our playground so we are holding the raffle to do this.

Manitoba Justice advises the recent appointments of Jennifer Goldenberg and Robert Patterson as masters of the Court of Queen’s Bench in Winnipeg and Brandon respectively. Goldenberg is a Winnipeg lawyer who has worked at several law firms and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.  Most recently, she was a provincially appointed adjudicator and chief commissioner of the Residential Tenancies Commission, and is a member of the Law Society of Manitoba’s discipline committee. Patterson is a Brandon lawyer with more than 20 years of experience in family law, civil litigation, criminal litigation, real estate law and municipal law.  He is the past-president of the Western Manitoba Bar Association and volunteers with several charities and service groups including the Brandon Area Community Foundation and local sports organizations. Masters are judicial officers within the Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba.  Like judges, they make decisions based on the law and evidence presented to them.  They handle matters such as enforcing support orders, child protection, bankruptcy, assessing the value of family property, and assessing records of committees and executors of estates. A nominating committee made recommendations to the minister related to these appointments.  Official swearing-in ceremonies will be scheduled as soon as possible.

Manitoba Agriculture is reminding agricultural producers affected by dry conditions of the programs and services available to livestock producers to manage forage shortages.  To date, low levels of precipitation and soil moisture have affected the growth of pastures and forage crops in parts of Manitoba. Manitoba Agriculture provides a number of tools and resources for producers to manage the impact of lower forage supplies.  These include: alternative feeding strategies such as straw and feed grain rations, greenfeed and utilizing other crop products as feed sources; the Manitoba Hay Listing Service, which allows producers to list hay, pasture or alternative feed that is either available or wanted; forage and pasture management; and livestock production. Producers with AgriInsurance contracts who intend to put their crop to alternate use are required to contact the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation for a field appraisal prior to harvesting the crop.  Crop producers managing crop residue should consider making crop residue available to livestock producers as an alternative to burning this residue. Manitoba also provides risk management programs under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership that help producers to manage production and price risk.  These include: Forage insurance under the AgriInsurance program, which insures hay and pasture production and establishment against potential losses.  Producers can check their coverage and learn more at www.masc.mb.ca or by calling their local MASC office. AgriStability, which is a voluntary program for producers offering support following large income losses and is based on a producer’s margins.  More information is at www.agr.gc.ca/agristability. Western Livestock Price Insurance Program is designed to help farmers protect themselves against unexpected price declines and more information can be found at www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/livestock/price-insurance-program.html. Producers can contact Manitoba Agriculture toll-free at 1-84-GROW-MB-AG (1-844-769-6224) for more information on any of these programs and services or go to www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture under Quick Links.