Brandon, MB – The City of Brandon’s Sanitation Section wishes to inform the public that as of Friday, December 29th, 2017, the public recycling depot located in the northeast corner of the Landmark Cinemas parking lot at 1570-18th Street will be permanently closed to the public and all bins removed. While the location has been a long-standing recycling drop-off in the City of Brandon, the ongoing re-development of the Shoppers Mall property has brought about this necessity for this closure. The City of Brandon would like to take this opportunity to thank the property owner for allowing it to use the parking lot as a depot location, and asks that all residents respect this change in operation and refrain from dropping off any materials at this location after Friday, December 29th, 2017. While Sanitation officials actively pursue an alternate recycling depot location to serve the City’s South End, a number of temporary measures will be put in place to ensure adequate recycling capacity is available throughout the community. Additional recycling bins will be placed at the depot located adjacent to the northeast corner of the intersection of 34th Street and Victoria Avenue, and recycling bins will also be added temporarily to the current compost and yard waste depot located in the northeast laneway at the intersection of First Street and Richmond Avenue. Residents may also drop acceptable recycling product at the depot located in the parking lot of Brandon’s Community Sportsplex (30 Knowlton Drive), or they may take it directly to the Eastview Landfill site, located in the 3300-Block of Victoria Avenue East. A Christmas Tree drop-off depot location will again be offered in the southeast corner of the Keystone Centre grounds (enter via Richmond Avenue) from Wednesday, December 20th through to Thursday, January 11th. The public is asked to remove all plastic bags, decorations and lighting from trees prior to discarding. After Wednesday, January 11th, all Christmas trees should be disposed of directly at the Eastview Landfill site. And a final note for Brandon residents that the Eastview Landfill will be closed on Monday, December 25th and Monday, January 1st. Regular curbside collection will occur on Tuesday, December 26th and on Tuesday, January 2nd. More information about the Eastview Landfill’s winter hours of operation can be found at http://www.brandon.ca/sanitation/landfill/landfill-overview.

BRANDON – An anonymous couple has found a fitting, and very generous, way to recognize Brandon University’s (BU’s) 50th year. The couple gifted shares to the University valued at approximately $50,000. Written on the donation form was, “Happy Birthday BU!” “Brandon University is a high-quality jewel, a treasure,” said one of the donors. “I wanted to honour the quality of the people at BU – the staff and faculty, as well as the students. The students are extraordinary!” The donors have asked that $15,000 be used to establish an endowment that will support student needs in the School of Music. The endowment will fund initiatives such as student travel, instrument repair and maintenance, practice studios and more. The remainder of the gift will be used to create an endowment fund to support travel opportunities and experiences for students in all disciplines across BU. “This is a wonderful reminder that the School of Music and Brandon University are able to reach people in such meaningful ways that they make generous donations like this,” said Greg Gatien, Dean of Music at BU. “Our donors do so much to help us, support us, and inspire us.  This gift means so much to our faculty and students, and will be a great help to them as they strive towards their musical goals.” Founded as Brandon College in 1899, BU received its charter as a university in 1967, and is spending the 2017-18 year celebrating the 50-year milestone. To mark the occasion the 50th Year Fund has been launched, giving donors that chance to give to any of the University’s faculties (Arts, Education, Health Studies and Science) or the School of Music. Donors may also choose to give to the Brandon College Heritage Fund to support the preservation of the history and archives of the College. Donors who make a gift on or before December 31 will receive a charitable tax receipt for 2017. Charitable tax receipts that can be used for 2018 will be issued for gifts made on or after January 1. “We have received wonderful support from donors and the community this year, and we expect that to continue in the coming weeks and months,” said BU Development Officer Shawna English. “The support of our donors is vital in keeping BU vibrant and in providing a great experience for our students.” The donation is one of two significant gifts made to the University recently. Members of the BU President’s Administrative Council have pledged a total of $50,000 to the Brandon University Foundation in response to the BU50 staff and faculty fundraising appeal. For more information on donating to Brandon University, please visit BrandonU.ca/Give.  

Brandon Police Service Media Release As a result of Police investigation into the fires that were deliberately set on Saturday night, Police have arrested a 27-year-old man from Brandon. At approximately 9:45 p.m. on Saturday night, Police responded to a vehicle fire in the 800 Block of Pacific Avenue. Investigation determined that fabric was placed in the gas tank and lit on fire. Responding officers attended and extinguished the fire preventing the vehicle from becoming engulfed in flames. The vehicle did sustain minimal damage. A short time later, a second fire was discovered coming from within a downtown hotel in the 1000 Block of Pacific Avenue. Old mattresses and some garbage were found to be deliberately set on fire, which was extinguished by members of Brandon Fire and Emergency Services. The suspect has been arrested for Arson Disregard Human Life X 2, Arson Damage to Property X 4 and Wear Disguise with Intent. The man was lodged at the Correctional Center and is scheduled to appear in Court on Monday.

Manitoba Families has appointed six new members to the Vulnerable Persons’ Hearing Panel and increased the board size by two members. The purpose of the hearing panel is to provide the vulnerable persons’ commissioner with independent and objective recommendations regarding applications for substitute decision-makers.  The hearing panel has members located throughout Manitoba and is made up of relatives of vulnerable people, lawyers and community members. The new appointments are: Family member Heather Deneka (Beausejour), a resource teacher at École Beausejour Early Years School. Community members Cecile Berard (Grande Pointe), a former financial security advisor who co-founded Berard Financial Group; Norman Bruce (Swan River), who has worked as an upper-level administrator in various government positions across Manitoba and served on multiple boards; and Jeff Fawcett (Brandon), a local business owner and board member who has worked as a volunteer mediator in the community. Lawyers Sheree Walder (Winnipeg), a partner at Myers Weinberg LLP with expertise in Indigenous child welfare and family law; and Karla Dane (Brandon), a partner at Meighen Haddad who has served on several local boards in Westman. The vulnerable persons’ commissioner appoints these individuals to have legal authority and act for a vulnerable person unable to make certain decisions on their own in specific areas identified by the commissioner. The Vulnerable Persons Living with a Mental Disability Act defines a vulnerable person as an adult living with a mental disability who is in need of assistance to meet his or her basic needs with regard to personal care or management of his or her property.

No one should be alone at Christmas, but feeding 2000 + people each Christmas with another 1500 home deliveries to those that can't make it in, takes time, people, food and money! Help support an amazing cause by donating whatever you can at www.gofundme.com/traditional-christmas-dinner, or by contacting them if you would like to donate food or volunteer your time. To see the different volunteer opportunities, please see the chart below. VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY Dec 21 (12pm) Turkey Prepping Dec 21 (8pm) Turkey Cooking Dec 22 (8am) Turkey Carving Dec 22 (1pm) Stuffing and Veggie cutting Dec 23 (8am) Turkey Carving Dec 23 (12pm) Potato peeling/mashing & wrapping presents Dec 24 (1pm) Stuffing – mixing and cooking Dec 25 (7am) Turkey Carving Dec 25 (7:30am) Kitchen help Dec 25 (8:30am) Preparing Take out meals Dec 25 (11:30am – 6pm) Serving tables