Persian delight

Woman who saved child, father from Red River uncomfortable with hero label

A Winnipeg woman who’s been hailed as a hero by police for saving a father and his young child from the Red River says she doesn’t feel like one.

“I’m a mom… and I would do it again,” said Jayclyn Morrissette, who was walking with her neighbour through St. John’s Park on Aug. 24 when they spotted a young girl flailing in the nearby river. “I was meant to be there and that was supposed to happen.”

Morrissette, who spoke to the Free Press Wednesday after police released details about the rescue, said she and her neighbour began looking for the child’s parents and found them at the nearby playground searching for her.

Morrissette waved them over. The father, who she said could not swim, jumped into the river first and immediately began to sink.

Back to school means increased costs for parents, post-secondary students

In the words of advice for students from Thornton Melon: “It’s rough out there. Move back in with your parents.”

As comedian Rodney Dangerfield’s character alluded to in the 1986 comedy Back to School, it is indeed a tough financial environment as students head back to the classroom in 2026.

A Capital One Canada survey found families are struggling with costs, with nearly six in 10 parents surveyed stating back-to-school expenses are higher than expected.

It’s not just tuition, new clothes and supplies. Extracurricular activities — like hockey, figure skating, ringette, soccer, dance, etc. — also ramp up, involving tuition-sized payments.

Westwood standoff ends with two arrested

An hours-long standoff in Westwood came to an end Thursday with Winnipeg police arresting two men and seizing a gun.

Winnipeg Police Service officers were called to Byrd Avenue shortly before 9:30 a.m. after a man was seen walking with what appeared to be a firearm, said police spokesman Const. Claude Chancy.

Officers identified a home connected to the investigation, he said.

Two men were arrested but Chancy could not yet say what they will be charged with. It’s not clear whether either of the men arrested was the male spotted with a gun.

Class delayed a day after mould found in Tyndall Park school

The first day of school has been postponed at École Stanley Knowles School after teachers discovered mould on chairs, rugs and other items when they were setting up their classrooms.

Families were alerted Thursday afternoon that an “HVAC malfunction” required extensive cleanup and, as a result, a one-day delay to the new year.

“I called it a couple weeks ago — it smelled really strong of mould,” said Amanda Bell, a mother who’s gone to the building regularly all summer to drop off and pick up her children from the on-site daycare.

Bell recalled she and her partner got a whiff of “wet mould” in a first-floor hallway near the library in mid-August and flagged it to an employee who told them they’d contact a custodian.

Mayoralty candidate Vogiatzakis decries war of words

A mayoral candidate took aim at personal insults among two of his competitors Friday, stressing the election campaign should focus on city issues instead.

“I’m really embarrassed by the mayoral candidates slinging mud at each other. We should be more professional … I don’t think we need to bring up people’s past or garbage that they’ve been involved in. I think this needs to be about the City of Winnipeg and what we’re going to do for the City of Winnipeg,” Mike Vogiatzakis said at a press conference Friday.

He confirmed he was referring specifically to skirmishes between Scott Gillingham, who is seeking re-election as mayor, and Kevin Klein, a former city councillor and provincial cabinet minister who registered for the race this week.

Within a few hours of Klein’s Tuesday announcement that he would enter the mayoral contest, Gillingham issued a statement labelling Klein “toxic,” a “Caribbean political fixer” for Peter Nygard and a supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Letters, Sept. 4

I do think it’s important to stand up and be heard — and that is why I want to add my voice to the chorus of folks condemning U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth for his recent social media post that very obviously drew attention in a negative way to the physical stature of two Canadian cadets at a military training course.