MTC co-founder Hendry ‘one of the fighters’: Pinsent

Candidates snipe over safety during radio debate

Public safety took centre stage during a sometimes fiery mayoral debate Wednesday morning, as three candidates sparred over their plans to make Winnipeg safer.

The CJOB debate included candidates Scott Gillingham, Kevin Klein and Mike Vogiatzakis, who were selected as the top contenders in the race based on polling data.

Moderator Richard Cloutier asked how each would make the city safer, noting concerns about a delayed response to property crimes, such as break-ins.

Klein noted he has promised a public safety task force and to hire more police, if he’s elected.

Letters, Oct. 21

I am a citizen of the Interlake who is deeply alarmed about the ongoing and deplorably unsafe condition of Highway 8, caused by the poor planning and implementation of the massive construction project that, ironically, is being done to increase public safety.

Arson probe launched in 3 separate fires at homes under construction

Winnipeg police have launched an arson investigation into three separate fires at homes under construction.

The latest blaze caused significant damage at two houses in St. Vital early Wednesday morning.

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic crews were sent to the 200 block of Regal Avenue shortly before 4 a.m. Heavy smoke and flames were coming from the homes and were threatening nearby buildings.

Additional firefighters were dispatched to the scene and some residents of neighbouring homes were evacuated.

Waters remain murky in uncharted Hellebuyck trade request territory

ST. LOUIS — The thing about being in uncharted waters is that the answer to the next question isn’t always readily apparent either above or below the surface.

Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel has been doing his best to ensure the upcoming two-game road trip against Central Division opponents doesn’t include a three-ring circus. But with news coming over the weekend that the suspension for goalie Connor Hellebuyck is set to expire on Friday, the club has to prepare for the next step in that process.

The problem, as Arniel conceded during his session on Monday afternoon before the team departed for Missouri, is that some of the hypotheticals need to be eliminated from the equation before the proper response can be determined.

“When it comes to Helly’s scenario, honestly I don’t really have a lot of information,” said Arniel. “I know everybody knows (about) Friday. That’s all we know.”

Empty desks: Advocates talk chronic school absenteeism

Concerned that school and government leaders are downplaying the state of student absenteeism, community organizers are strategizing to create urgency around who’s regularly missing class — and why — in Winnipeg.

The inaugural Youth at Risk in Winnipeg Symposium, held over the weekend at the Canadian Mennonite University, drew roughly 100 people to discuss barriers to attendance and brainstorm ways to remove them.

Nearly 20 years after he began calling attention to the issue, first as a volunteer with the Point Douglas Residents Committee, Sel Burrows gave an impassioned speech about the lack of political will to take meaningful action to help students from “dysfunctional homes.”

“I’ve dealt with nine cabinet ministers, Conservative and NDP, and five deputy ministers, and the issue has not gotten any better,” Burrows told teachers, reseachers and community support workers gathered Saturday on CMU’s Shaftesbury campus.