Thanks to our travel guru Cathie Crossin she noticed today that direct flights from Brandon to Toronto have vanished off their website. After a few phone calls to Westjet today they have confirmed all direct flights have been canceled and customers need to re-book their flight from either going Winnipeg to Toronto or by going from Brandon and connecting to Calgary and then going to Toronto. One thing Westjet did say was that this is just for the winter months and perhaps next summer the direct flights could happen again, but nothing has been formally planned, or arranged at this time. Too bad to see this happen as having that flight option was amazing to use. Leaving Brandon at 515 am and getting to Toronto local time at 830 am was outstanding.  But if the flight isn’t being used we do understand that this is a business decision.

Public Service Statement   The Brandon Police Service is issuing the following public safety statement as a result of crimes of a sexual nature that have been committed against female victims over the spring and summer months. On Saturday, April 9th, Police received a report from a 27 year old female that she was approached by two unknown males in an alleyway near 11th Street and Rosser Avenue at approximately 9:30 pm and sexually assaulted. On Sunday, July 3rd, Police received a report from a 45 year old female that she was approached by a lone unknown male in an alleyway near 11th Street and Rosser Avenue at approximately 8:30 am and sexually assaulted. On Thursday, August 18th, Police received a report from a 30 year old female that she was approached by a lone unknown male in an alleyway near 6th Street and Princess avenue at approximately 2:30 am and sexually assaulted. On Monday, September 12th, Police received a report from a 34 year old female that she was approached by two unknown males under the 1st Street bridge at approximately 7:30 am and sexually assaulted. In each case, the victims had previously been socializing at licensed premises or residences in the down town area and were walking alone at the time of the incidents in remote or dimly lit areas.  The suspect(s) in each case preceded the encounter by asking the victim for a cigarette.  Initially, it could not be determined if the incidents were related based on the evidence gathered to date, however Police now believe that they may be related. The suspects in these incidents are described as male, one Caucasian in appearance and one Aboriginal in appearance and approximately 25 to 35 years old. The victims in each case received minor injuries as a result of the incidents and were treated and released from the hospital. Police continue to investigate the matters and encourage anyone with any information in relation to these incidents to contact the Brandon Police Service or Crime Stoppers. Cst T. Robins #128 204-729-2390

It was a scene that one would typically expect to see only in the movie theatre but today the action played out live in Brandon in a crazy afternoon on Kirkcaldy Drive. Below are a few photos taken earlier today immediately following a police pursuit which ended with three suspects being taken into custody. For more information on today events please see the Brandon Police Services report at the link provided.

There is a ribbon-cutting ceremony set to take place today at 12 pm for the newly built Métis housing triplex at 527-12th Street in Brandon, Manitoba. Minister of Housing for the MMF, Will Goodon along with Len Isleifson, MLA for Brandon East are scheduled to be on-hand for the ceremony. From today's press release “Affordable housing allows our Métis Citizens and their families to maintain a good quality of life,” says Minister of Housing for the MMF, Will Goodon. “It helps ensure there is a strong, stable foundation for our Métis children to be raised happy and healthy.” The new triplex will be comprised of three suites, each 1069 square feet. One suite is currently occupied while the other two are expected to be filled in early October. The building is part of larger overall project to supply affordable housing to Métis Citizens based on a combined initiative of the Government of Manitoba’s partnership with the MMF that began in 2013. Overall 5.5 million dollars was allocated over a 5-year span through the Manitoba Housing & Renewal Corporation to help achieve their goals.

Courtesy:  Brandon University Press Release BRANDON, MB. — While most Brandon University (BU) students are heading to their first classes today, one group got an early start with three days of intensive orientation sessions last week. Students in the BU Master of Psychiatric Nursing program came to the BU campus for a round of seminars, faculty research presentations and introductions before heading back home to complete their coursework. The program — the only Master of Psychiatric Nursing program in North America — is primarily delivered online, to students from across Canada. Adding an in-person component on campus makes a key difference in student success. “Online learning is challenging,” says Dr. Dean Care, Dean of Health Studies at BU. “It’s about relationships. We’ve have a very intensive three days of orientation and fellowship. One of the great features of our program is this time to get to know each other, and getting to know fellow students. That’s what makes our program unique.” With 51 students in the program for the 2016–17 academic year, plus five more taking courses with plans for future application to BU’s Master of Psychiatric Nursing, university administrators are pleased with how popular the graduate program has become since its inception in 2011. “We have students literally from coast to coast, from Victoria, B.C. to Halifax, Nova Scotia,” says Fran Racher, the coordinator of BU’s Master of Psychiatric Nursing program. “And the B.C. contingent is almost as large as the contingent from Manitoba.” She says that, most students progress through the program in three to four years, taking two to three years to complete the coursework and another year for their thesis. “Their commitment is amazing,” she says. “Most students are working full-time and raising young families while they complete this degree.” With the entirety of the course work done by distance, using online learning platforms and electronic discussion forums, the three-day conference to start the academic year takes on extra importance. “They build a network among themselves, they maintain those relationships, and they learn from each other, share experiences, and are supports for each other,” Racher says. “These students are advanced practitioners who are moving their discipline forward, questioning the current practice, and facilitating change through the sharing of evidence-based knowledge and techniques.” Racher ticks off a number of research projects that students are currently completing. She notes how one student influences another, and then another, as they learn from experience and expertise in a fellow student’s area and seek to apply it to their own. “The topic can be front-line mental health services in acute care settings, it can be community mental health, forensics or police-oriented resources, it can be mental health and addictions, they have amazing learning to share,” she says. “These students understand mental illness and they are committed to the clients they serve. Through their knowledge development and the sharing of it, they are going to change mental health service delivery across Canada.” 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. For more information:   Fran Racher Master of Psychiatric Nursing Coordinator 204.727.7414 Racher@BrandonU.ca   Grant Hamilton Marketing Communications Officer 204.571.8542 HamiltonG@BrandonU.ca