Sweet success

‘That just brings the uniqueness to the game’

As the field goal was sailing wide left, Trey Vaval stood one yard inside the back of the end zone and began to go through his checklist.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers star returner wasn’t about to get ahead of himself, nor was he spending any additional time lamenting the punt he muffed on the previous series.

“You watch how the ball is kicked off the foot and just track it, catch it, make sure I secure the catch and then just kind of read the field,” Vaval said on Tuesday afternoon as the Bombers returned to the practice field after a 30-21 victory over the Toronto Argonauts. “There’s not really a lot going on in my head.”

That ability to block out any potential distractions was helpful as Vaval broke through for his first touchdown of the season, a 129-yard scamper that set a franchise record and played a pivotal role in extending the lead in the fourth quarter as the Bombers improved to 3-2 for the CFL season.

Folk fest donates leftover food to Siloam Mission

Thousands of meals will be served at Siloam Mission this week thanks to a massive food donation from the Winnipeg Folk Festival.

More than 4,200 pounds — about two tonnes — of surplus food from the four-day festival that wrapped up Sunday was delivered to the mission on Monday.

The donation, consisting of prepared food, protein, dairy and fresh produce, is expected to provide enough ingredients to prepare about 6,000 meals for people experiencing homelessness and poverty.

“We are part of the Winnipeg community and when we can give back, we do,” said folk festival executive director Valerie Shantz.

Manitoba workplaces becoming increasingly violent

A middle school student file documenting more than 40 violent outbursts in a single year.

A gun kept under the pillow of a home-care patient who has dementia.

A drug-fuelled rage during which a man suffering from a contagious disease spat on and wrapped his hands around the throat of a first responder.

These are among the hazards that front-line employees in health care, education and other public sector positions are navigating when they clock in for a shift.

Man armed with ‘edged weapon’ dies after dispute in Linden Woods home

The family of a 42-year-old Winnipeg man shot and killed by police in Linden Woods on Monday night says the incident raises troubling questions about how officers respond to people in mental-health crisis.

“Their reaction to mental health is my concern,” said the man’s sister-in-law, Erica Smith, who spoke outside her brother-in-law’s Avon Gate home on Tuesday. She said her brother-in-law struggled with his mental health.

“It didn’t have to end like this,” she said, fighting back tears. “It could have ended differently.”

Police said officers encountered the man armed with an “edged weapon” at the home when they arrived shortly before 10:30 p.m.

Krispy Kreme does brisk business on opening day in Winnipeg

Within two hours of opening, Krispy Kreme had seen hundreds of customers. Motorists lined up past the parking lot and beyond a four-way intersection in hopes of entering the drive-thru. Patrons began standing outside the doughnut shop’s doors at 11 a.m. Monday for the 7 a.m. Tuesday opening, the general manager said. “It’s been extremely busy, but it’s going really, really well,” Larry Geraghty said as customers slowly shuffled by. Lovers of fried pastries endured long lines and rainy conditions to be some of the first to purchase Krispy Kreme doughnuts during its grand opening early Tuesday. (Mike Deal / […]