Teachers Excited For The New School Year

The 2018-19 school year officially starts on Wednesday this week for everyone except for grade 7 and 8 at MacKenzie Middle School.

Teachers have been back since early last week.

Donna Davidson, Superintendent for the Mountain View School Division, reminds us what their mission statement is,

"Provide an inspiring, respectful, and safe learning environment where every student is valued, nurtured, and enabled to reach his or her full potential."

The teachers and the rest of the staff are excited to have the students back in class.

The custodial team has worked hard throughout the summer to get the schools ready for this week.

There have been some capital projects going on at some of the schools, most should be completed by the start of school.

Details: Contributed by Isaac Wihak; Published: Sep 3, 2018 - 8:12 am

Cpl. Kingdon is doing well. He is still in the hospital recovering from his injuries. He is receiving strong support from his family, friends and colleagues.

The Manitoba RCMP thanks everyone who has reached out with words of compassion and encouragement.

The Manitoba RCMP have charged the four people involved in the Onanole incident with the following:

Therae Racette-Beaulieu, 18, Sandy Bay First Nation

- Attempted murder with firearm x2
- Breaking and entering x2
- Possession of property obtained by crime over $5000
- Weapons possession contrary to order and fail to surrender authorization
- Possession of firearm/weapon/device/ammunition in motor vehicle

Tommy Edward Beaulieu, 21, Portage la Prairie

- Theft of vehicle
- Breaking and entering x2
- Possession of property obtained by crime over $5000
- Weapons possession contrary to order and fail to surrender authorization
- Fail to comply with a probation order

Shane Donovan Beaulieu, 30, Portage la Prairie

- Breaking and entering x2
- Possession of property obtained by crime over $5000
- Weapons possession contrary to order and fail to surrender authorization

Delaney Marcus Houle, 23, Portage la Prairie

- Breaking and entering x2
- Possession of property obtained by crime over $5000
- Possession of firearm/weapon/device/ammunition in motor vehicle

All have been remanded into custody. Shane Beaulieu appeared in Brandon Provincial Court earlier today. Delaney Houle, Tommy Beaulieu and Therae Racette-Beaulieu are all scheduled to appear in Brandon Provincial Court on Tuesday, September 4th.

The investigation is continuing by the Major Crimes Unit and further charges are possible.

Details: Contributed by Isaac Wihak; Published: Sep 1, 2018 - 7:30 am

You can check out Rainbow Beach or Duck Mountain Provincial Park for free this weekend.
The provincial government is celebrating the Labour Day long weekend, by not requiring vehicle permits.
The province want’s to remind everyone about the dangers of spreading aquatic invasive species.
Their primary focus is to stop the spread of zebra mussels which have already caused closures of Whirlpool Lake in Riding Mountain National Park.
You should always clean, drain, and dry anything that goes into the water before bringing it somewhere else and have your boat checked at a watercraft inspection station.

Details: Contributed by Isaac Wihak; Published: Sep 1, 2018 - 5:58 am

There will be an important change to Drivers Ed classes in school this year.

MPI is adding gravel road driving to the curriculum.

The reason gravel road driving wasn’t in the curriculum earlier is that in Winnipeg it can be difficult getting to a gravel road from some parts of the city.

Most instructors took their students on gravel roads before the curriculum change if they could.

If the novice driver doesn’t feel comfortable driving on gravel roads they won’t have to, it’s all conditional on the competence and confidence of the driver.

Details: Contributed by Isaac Wihak; Published: Sep 1, 2018 - 5:53 am

A 22-year-old man from Waywayseecappo was arrested by Brandon Police for theft.

The man was going from house to house trying to open doors at 3:39 a.m. yesterday morning when the police were alerted.

Police ended up catching him with an item he stole from a yard in the area.

Waywayseecappo is about 40 km east of Russel.

Details: Contributed by Isaac Wihak; Published: Aug 31, 2018 - 1:23 pm

After yesterday's four-hour standoff in Neepawa; RCMP believe they have all suspects who were involved in Wednesday night's shooting, in custody.

Police surrounded a house in Neepawa yesterday as they sought the fourth suspect in a shooting that injured 42-year-old RCMP Corporal Graeme Kingdon on Wednesday night in the Onanole area.

Kingdon and a partner were responding to a break and enter call in the Onanole area, when they were fired upon almost immediately after exiting their vehicle.

The RCMP say that there is no further threat to the public at this time, and that they thank the public and the media for their assistance.

Details: Contributed by Alec Woolston; Published: Aug 31, 2018 - 6:37 am

The on-going fire ban in the Municipality of Roblin has been amended so that residents can now use a fire pit, or a solid fuel-burning appliance between the hours of 8PM and 8AM.

Any fires in a fire pit must be enclosed on all sides, and covered with a non-combustible grate or mesh, and placed on a non-combustible base, clear of overhangs.

There is still a ban on open-air fires for stubble, brush, crop residue, and grass fires. Permits are currently not being issued until further notice.

If you have any questions about the restrictions, you can call the Municipal Office at 204-937-8333.

Details: Contributed by Alec Woolston; Published: Aug 31, 2018 - 6:18 am

Riding Mountain National Park is turning off the street lights and looking up at the stars this weekend.

Dark Sky Weekend begins tonight in Wasagaming, at 10, with their Lights out in the Park, Dark Sky launch party at the Central Park by the main beach.

Cal Martin, the park’s visitor experience manager, shares why they are celebrating the dark.

“Dark skies are something at are amazing to see. At Riding Mountain National Park the night sky is crystal clear at times. You see such beautiful stars and sometimes northern light. We really felt that it was important to do a celebration of the night sky.”

Throughout the weekend you can participate in free and paid activities.

Martin explains how the event works.

"You can come for the whole weekend, or you can come for just a couple of hours. We have a number of events throughout the weekend and each of them is really a stand-alone experience."

You’ll earn about the Milky Way from the pros, learn about Anishinabe perspectives of the night sky, and party under the stars.

The best way to experience Dark Sky Weekend is to go at night, however, not everyone can stay up that late so there will be activities throughout the days as well.

Details: Contributed by Josh Sigurdson; Published: Aug 31, 2018 - 5:00 am

People all over the province are hitting the road for the long weekend and with added vehicles come more accidents.

Manitoba Public Insurance says the September long weekend usually has 800 collisions over the four days.

MPI is calling on everyone who uses the road this weekend to do their part in making it a safe and collision-free one.

They remind people to buckle up. People not using their seatbelts are 26 times more likely to be killed and two times more likely to be seriously injured in a collision than people using their seatbelt.

MPI wants to stress that it’s against the law to drive while impaired by both alcohol and drugs and that texting and driving is also not allowed.