Source:  Brandon Police Service Media Release At approximately 6:18 p.m., Sunday evening Police received a report that a 22-year-old male had just been bear sprayed at a residence in the 100 Block of 17th street. The male suspect was eventually located and charged with Assault with a Weapon, Possess a Prohibited Weapon, Possessions of a Weapon Dangerous, Carry a Concealed Weapon and Breach of Recognizance. The 20-year-old male from Brandon was lodged at the Correctional Centre and will appear in Court today.

For many of us our pets are without a doubt a key part of our homes.  When they go missing, what do you do to locate them other than put up posters on community billboards or local message forums? Now, you have the option of contacting the BALA (Brandon Area Lost Animals) for assistance. Brandon Area Lost Animals has become Brandon and Westman’s go to resource if your pet has gone missing, or if you have found a stray dog or cat.  Toni Gramiak and husband Chris spend countless hours, as well dollars, helping find homes for these missing animals.   Truly a thankless job. BDNMB had a chance to sit down with Toni to talk about what makes BALA tick. BDNMB.CA: Toni how long has BALA existed? Toni: Since 2012 it was founded and inspired by a greyhound named King, Mark Burgess's dog. Facebook page Help Find King. Sadly King was never recovered, but the knowledge, experience and equipment gathered for him has saved hundreds if not thousands of animals. Mark will gladly speak to you also. BDNMB.CA: Financially how do you keep things afloat? TONI: The BALA Community that donates toward specific animals or projects. Funds for Furry Friends has also assisted with helping with vetting and spays or neuters through their programs. BDNMB.CA: Is their a specific area or region you cover? Toni: We assist southwestern Manitoba,with majority of the requests to post being in Brandon. If necessary, we travel outside our area to capture scared dogs. Recently I went to Cromer and captured a pug. He had gone missing from Maryfield Saskatchewan and I delivered him home. I've gone to other areas to humanely trap, including Winnipeg, Beausejour, Woodlands, Selkirk. BDNMB.CA: Do you have any numbers or stats on success stories? Toni: I haven't tabulated stats, although sliding through profile photos, the captions indicates the outcome. BDNMB.CA: How can people help? Toni: The BALA Community helps by sharing & liking alerts, increasing awareness of BALA, and tagging people who have lost or found a pet we've posted. BDNMB.CA: Will the city or Province be of assistance? Toni: The City of Brandon assists by supporting BALA. The Animal Control Officers, Police Officers, BPS receptionists. The Mayor has even gone to bat for me, to allow me to postroad signs in Brandon so we could trap Tinkerbell. Tinkerbell is a boxer mix who was running in a blind panic all around the outskirts of Brandon, in the highways and on the busiest streets in Brandon. After we got the signs up, I had her in the Humane trap within 12 hours. It would be a dream come true if Provincial Animal Welfare would support our trapping endeavors, so we would have somewhere for trapped dogs to go. Then if unclaimed, the dogs would be available for rescue intake. Currently, very few RMs have Animal Services. Then I have a dog with nowhere to go into boarding, to decompress, rest and be held for owners to claim. Personally, 18 months I lost one of my Samoyeds in a snow storm and within half an hour BALA had found him.  I couldn’t be more thankful for what Toni and her crew of volunteers do.

Canada’s National Youth Track & Field Championships is coming to Brandon August 10 to 12 and they are looking for volunteers to help make the event a complete success.   It is a big meet, a big endeavor, so any volunteer help would be incredible and appreciated.   Shifts are as short as four hours and both morning or afternoon shifts are available on the Friday, Saturday or Sunday.  Experience is not necessary and there are a wide variety of different volunteer positions available ranging from concession services to track crew.  A more details list of the positions available can be found at this link.

Source: City of Brandon Motorists and residents will want to be aware of the forthcoming closure of Richmond Avenue between 20th Street and 22nd Street, beginning at 7 a.m. on Monday, July 23rd and lasting until end of day on Friday, August 10th. The closure is necessary to complete a planned water main replacement and land drainage sewer installation. Signed detours will be in place to help the public navigate the construction. Local traffic provisions will be made to allow directly-impacted residents and businesses to maintain access to their property. Following the full closure, additional partial lane closures are expected for the remainder of the summer to accommodate various portions of the work.

Source:  ACC Blog The community of Russell, Man. will be host Assiniboine Community College’s next rural rotating Practical Nursing program delivery site, with classes starting in January. “We’re excited to be partnering with Russell to deliver this program and look forward to training more than two dozen nurses for rewarding careers in the nursing profession,” said Karen Hargreaves, Dean of Health & Human Services at Assiniboine. “Studying close to home has many benefits for students and their families, and nursing graduates are in high demand across the province.” “I’m more than pleased to have a program of this kind delivered in our community,” said Russell Mayor Len Derkach. “We’ve been waiting for some time and my appreciation goes to the president and staff community college for the effort they have put in to make this a reality for our community.” The two-year diploma program offering has space for 25 students. Applications will be accepted between August 20 – September 7. All applications accepted within that two-week window will be treated equally in a lottery system, however, those applicants living within a 100-kilometer radius of Russell will be given preference in the first lottery draw. Those interested in learning more about the program entrance requirements, application process, and other details should visit assiniboine.net/nursing for more information. In addition to the permanent nursing programs offered across Manitoba at Assiniboine’s campuses in Brandon, Dauphin and Winnipeg, the college has a rural rotating site currently running in Melita. In the fall, Selkirk, Peguis First Nation, and Portage la Prairie will also be home to a delivery of the college’s Practical Nursing program. Currently, applications are open for the nursing programs being delivered in Brandon and Dauphin, with Brandon having a two-year waitlist. Applications for Winnipeg are not currently being accepted as the wait list for the program offering spans multiple years. The demand for Assiniboine nursing graduates is high; 100 per cent of graduates surveyed from the 2016-17 academic year said they had jobs, making on average $54,121 a year. Graduate LPNs secure careers in hospitals, personal care homes, medical clinics, private agencies and the community. With some advanced preparation, some entrepreneurial LPNs are even choosing to start their own businesses. Since 1975, more than 3,500 individuals have graduated from nursing programs offered by the college. In the past five years alone, Assiniboine has delivered its Practical Nursing program in nine communities across Manitoba including Portage la Prairie, Peguis First Nation, Deloraine, and Pine Falls.