Canadian Screen Awards to air on TV after all in last-minute programming shift

Letters, Oct. 1

Did anyone else see the irony when Premier Wab Kinew announced at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre that Manitoba would adopt permanent Daylight Time (DT) and had hired 17 new psychiatrists this year?

Jets bench boss Arniel talks rebuilding from last season’s struggles

Scott Arniel has a lot on his plate these days.

But the head coach of the Winnipeg Jets took some time Thursday to sit down with Free Press hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe to discuss a number of topics on the eve of a new hockey season. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Wiebe: What was the evaluation of last season like? What did you personally do in an attempt to improve after going from first-overall to 26th-overall?

I just went back and looked at things and made sure my communication was where it needed to be with my players. Was my communication where it needed to be with my boss, with my general manager (Kevin Cheveldayoff)? How our coaching staff worked. How we handled highs and lows. Things I felt I could have done better.

Gillingham talks trash, pledges big bin boost

Scott Gillingham says he would add hundreds of locked garbage bins downtown to prevent unsightly trash piles if re-elected as mayor.

Gillingham led a program that added about 120 locked garbage bins along Portage Avenue and Main Street last fall, after trash was repeatedly strewn around the area. If he wins a second term, he plans to add at least 200 more of the receptacles.

A look at how one locked Main Street recycle/garbage bin in front of city hall fared offers an example of the bins’ success so far, he said.

“Every day, you would see the lids up, and people had been rifling through it, or someone left the lid up and the wind picked up the garbage and (spread) it everywhere. It’s much more difficult now. Once the garbage is in, the garbage stays in,” said Gillingham.

Manitoba man accused of killing five family members dismisses lawyers for second time

WINNIPEG - A Manitoba man accused of killing his three young children, their mother and a teen relative has parted ways with his lawyers for the second time this year. 

Ryan Manoakeesick, who is charged with five counts of first-degree murder, is seeking new counsel because of a breakdown in the  relationship with his lawyers.

"We were hopeful that we would be able to maintain that solicitor-client relationship in good standing with Mr. Manoakeesick. But ultimately his latest instructions to us are inconsistent with the last set of instructions of this week," Crystal Antila, one of the lawyers, told Court of King's Bench Justice Candace Grammond on Thursday.

"And at this point he also wishes to explore the opportunity to find other counsel."

Netminder no stranger to heavy workload as Jets new No. 1 readies for regular-season start

Stuart Skinner is quick to admit that he wasn’t always wired this way.

As the Winnipeg Jets new starting goalie prepares for his fifth NHL season, Skinner conceded that the accountability aspect that is now synonymous with his character took some time to build up.

“As I grew up and got older, you go through certain things in life that either build character or make things worse for you. It depends on your choice and your decision,” Skinner said during a recent conversation with the Free Press. “I learned it through trial and error. I learned that, sometimes, it’s hard to get honest with yourself… For me, it’s definitely been a road for me to get to a place like this.

“It definitely is one of my pillars. Accountability is so important because that brings you into a spot of what you’re going to do next. It’s easy to let yourself off the hook. I’m more in the business of putting myself on the hook.”