BRANDON, MB – The Keystone Agricultural and Recreational Centre Inc. (Keystone Centre) Board of Directors are pleased to announce that Jeff Schumacher has accepted the positon of General Manager of the Keystone Centre. Schumacher begins the first week of August. Schumacher holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Salisbury University in Salisbury, MD and is a former member of the Maryland Army National Guard. His professional career has focused on managing multipurpose/arena type complexes throughout the USA. Most recently, Schumacher was the General Manager of the Salinas Sports Complex/Rodeo Inc. in Salinas, California where he managed the day-to-day operation of the Salinas Sports Complex (65 acres), including the 16,500 capacity main arena, the 5,250 capacity Rabobank Stadium, softball complex, batting cages, banquet halls, museum, barn and pens. The Salinas Sports Complex is home to the California Rodeo, PBR, equestrian events, concerts, graduations, family and motorsports attractions and multiple sports events including football, soccer, lacrosse and field hockey. Previous to his GM role in Salinas he was GM/Director of eight other multipurpose/arena facilities through out the USA, including roles as General Manager of the XFINITY Arena in Everett, WA, home to the Everett Silvertips of the WHL and the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, ME which was home to a QMJHL franchise. Born in Leavenworth, Kansas, Schumacher has served on various boards and committees for local sports commissions and chambers of commerce. He is excited about moving to Brandon and getting to know the Keystone management team, valued clients, the city of Brandon and Westman region. Shawn Berry, Chair of the Board says “We’re thrilled about Jeff assuming the role of GM at the Keystone Centre. His past experience, industry contacts and passion for managing facilities, like the Keystone, is exactly what we were looking for in a new GM. He will bring fresh ideas and new ways of operating the business that our board is really looking forward to.”

A 38-year old male resident of Melita has been arrested, and faces multiple charges, following the execution of a search warrant on July 28 in Melita. RCMP say they located and seized “more than 24 ounces of Methamphetamine, 5 ounces of Marijuana, 56 grams of “shatter”, a small quantity of cocaine and hash, a firearm, and a small quantity of Canadian currency” at the residence. “Our officers worked hard and their efforts were rewarded with a significant seizure of meth.” said Sgt. Ed Riglin, Acting Area Commander for the Westman RCMP Detachment. “These drugs would have had a profound effect in the community of Melita and the surrounding Westman area if this substance had been able to hit the streets.” Richard Underwood has been charged with: two counts of Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking two counts of Possession of a Controlled Substance Assault Forcible Confinement Utter Threats Unsafe Storage of a Firearm Failing to Comply with a Probation Order Wetman RCMP continue to investigate.

Earlier today the Manitoba Public Utilities Board (PUB) awarded Manitoba Hydro a 3.36 per cent interim rate increase, effective August 1. As part of the utility’s General Rate Application filed with the PUB in May of this year, Manitoba Hydro had requested an interim rate increase of 7.9 per cent in August 2017 and a further 7.9 per cent in April 2018. “We are pleased that the PUB recognized the need for an interim rate increase,” said Kelvin Shepherd, President and CEO of Manitoba Hydro. “However, we are concerned that the PUB has not taken quicker action to begin to address the serious financial challenges and risks facing Manitoba Hydro. This order gives the PUB more time to review our full rate application and consider all the evidence on some very important issues that we believe need to be addressed in any final rate decision.” Shepherd explained that Manitoba Hydro needs additional revenue to fully fund its operations, including investing in the replacement and upgrading of its aging infrastructure. Additional revenue would also help the utility withstand the risks of rising interest rates and drought. “Our business is subject to a great deal of volatility in terms of water flows, which are extremely hard to predict and can have a very major and rapid impact on our revenues,” said Shepherd. “With our debt already having increased to $16 billion and scheduled to grow by another $8 billion over the next five years, it’s imperative we increase our financial capacity to fund our ongoing operations, rebuild equity in our company, and have sufficient free cash flow to ensure that our debt is considered self-sustaining.” “We cannot count on faster growth in electricity usage or factors outside our control such as continued historically low interest rates, a rebound in market prices for electricity exports, or above average water flows to recover from the significant deterioration in our financial strength,” Shepherd added. “The best way we can ensure continued delivery of safe, reliable service at competitive rates is through the actions we are already taking to significantly reduce our operating costs, balanced with increasing rates sufficiently over the next several years.” Shepherd said Manitoba Hydro looks forward to the comprehensive PUB review of Manitoba Hydro’s full General Rate Application, with public hearings scheduled to begin in December, and expects that this detailed public review process will ultimately confirm the need for the level of rate increases that were requested.

The City of Brandon’s Community Services Department is pleased to inform the public that it will be offering extended evening hours of operation at two of the City’s spray park locations for the remainder of the summer season. Beginning Tuesday, August 1st until Sunday, September 3rd, the Rideau Park Spray Park and the Westridge Spray Park will remain operational until 8 p.m. each night – one hour later than its regular schedule.The paddle pool features will begin to drain at 7 p.m.; however, the other spray park features will be left on an additional hour and be turned off at 8 p.m. instead of 7 p.m.The City of Brandon’s Community Services Department welcomes members of the public to take advantage of this opportunity as it examines the potential for extended summer hours in future years. Locations and hours of operation for Brandon’s other outdoor pools and spray parks can be found on the City of Brandon website at http://www.brandon.ca/recreation-parks/spray-parks-paddle-pools.

  BRANDON – Drones are taking off at Brandon University (BU) this fall. Students and members of the public who are fascinated by the unmanned aerial vehicles can register for a university-credit course that will teach them everything they need to know to safely and legally fly the popular and useful airborne vehicles. “Drones are really fun to fly, and a lot of hobbyists fly them for pure enjoyment,” said BU Geography professor Dr. Dion Wiseman. “For geographers and for many others, they are also important tools that can capture photos and other data to provide incredibly detailed information that’s difficult or impossible to gather in any other way.” The new course, Applied Topics in Geography: UAV Ground School, offers students a novel opportunity to learn about drones, their applications, safety considerations, how they work, and the regulations and procedures to operate them. Students will have the chance to become certified drone pilots, able to fly drones commercially or for research at the university. “Drones have become a vital tool for collecting aerial photography used to generate land cover maps and create 3D models of the natural terrain and built landscape. They are used extensively across a variety of traditional academic disciplines including archaeology, environmental science, biology, geography, and geology; as well as in numerous applied fields such as architecture, civil engineering, surveying, and many more,” Wiseman said. “This course, and resulting Transport Canada certification, will provide students in a variety of college and university programs with a competitive edge is today’s job market by providing them with highly marketable skills and training.” The course will also prepare drone pilots for stiff new Transport Canada regulations. Existing rules exempt people who fly drones recreationally, while the proposed new rules will require everyone at the controls of a drone to have completed a ground school course like the one being offered at BU. “This is an industry that is getting huge. Real estate, photography and videography are some of the more obvious applications, but all of the major industries including mining, construction and agriculture are turning to drones, and they’re all around us here on the Prairies,” said Matthew Johnson, president of M3 Aerial Productions and the instructor of the course. He said he expects every farmer will soon own a drone. “Agriculture is huge. Within three to five years, drones will be a tool that everyone uses. The trend is growing right now, and the ability to get an aerial photo of their field is so important.” To help meet expected wide demand for the training, the course will be fully available online. The first portion of the course is self-directed online study that must be completed by Nov. 17. The second portion includes three Saturday sessions (Nov. 18, 25, and Dec. 2) that are offered either in-class or through online videoconferencing. The course cost is $600, and includes BU tuition, the university admissions fee, and a course fee of $60 for the manual and textbook. There is no prerequisite, and no need to already own a drone, as the course is completely ground-based with no actual flying. “Brandon University is one of the first in Canada to offer a UAV pilot ground school,” Wiseman said. “Pilot training schools have begun to offer programs that result in similar certification meeting Transport Canada regulations, but they are not for university course credit.” Johnson says people are realizing that drone education is necessary. With the ever-increasing popularity of drones, people need to be aware of the hazards before they start flying around overhead. “It’s like driving a car. Driver’s Ed is extremely valuable to public safety as a whole in the same way as UAV Ground School,” he said. But just as a driver’s license can open up new destinations, he says that flying a drone can help launch a career. “For students, it’s a huge opportunity to get in in the early stages. There’s already a shortage of qualified drone pilots, and now with just one course you can tap into a whole new industry.” Brandon University, founded in 1899, promotes excellence in teaching, research, and scholarship, and educates students so that they can make a meaningful difference as engaged citizens and leaders.