Weekender festivities to take over downtown

A life's story: From wartorn Poland to Winnipeg’s streets, Kazimierz Patalas worked to help others

Kazimierz Patalas left Poland in the late 1960s to make a new life for him and his family elsewhere, but he never forgot the lessons he learned as a young man in the country of his birth.

Perhaps no one lesson stuck with him more than the importance of giving back to the community. It was something he first endeavoured to do as a teen in his native Poland and continued to do for many decades after arriving in his adopted home of Winnipeg in 1967.

“He was always trying to do good for the community. I guess that was sort of ingrained in him from Poland,” says son Jacek, one of three children born to Patalas and his wife Józefa.

“Everything you did you kind of did for the community, for making sacrifices. Your life was geared towards or focused on helping society or the community where you live.”

‘Tough part of the business’

Relief? Regret? Rage?

How are the Winnipeg Jets feeling following Friday’s Connor Hellebuyck trade — particularly those with deep roots and strong bonds with the franchise goaltender who now finds himself a member of the New Jersey Devils?

“It was a bit of a cloud hanging over our heads,” captain Adam Lowry admitted on Saturday. “It’s nice we can look forward now. We don’t have to keep talking about it. We’ve got guys that want to be here.”

That was a bit of a common theme around the room following an outdoor practice at Princess Auto Stadium ahead of Sunday’s Heritage Classic game against the Montreal Canadiens.

Mayor Gillingham poised for repeat

Incumbent mayoral candidate Scott Gillingham remains in the lead among decided voters in a new poll that suggests a majority of Winnipeggers want change ahead of Wednesday’s election.

Gillingham was backed by 36 per cent of decided voters in an Abacus Data survey released Friday, followed by candidates Kevin Klein (19 per cent) and Mike Vogiatzakis and a surging Noah Redden, who were tied for third (both at 14 per cent).

While a majority of respondents expressed a desire for a new mayor, Curtis Brown, a vice-president with Abacus, said “none of the other candidates has convincingly made the case that they represent the best change.”

“In the absence of that, Scott Gillingham definitely has the advantage. He looks likely to be able to win,” Brown said.

Winnipeg Jets trade Connor Hellebuyck to New Jersey Devils

Connor Hellebuyck finally got his wish. Kevin Cheveldayoff finally got an offer he couldn’t refuse. And a long-running sports soap opera has finally ended.

The Winnipeg Jets pulled off a blockbuster deal Friday morning, shipping their disgruntled franchise goaltender to the New Jersey Devils for a package including four players and two draft picks.

Although they liked the return, nobody within the organization was popping champagne. This was, in many ways, a dark but necessary day.

“It certainly hasn’t been fun. There’s no question about it. But at the end of the day, Connor made his choice. And, as an organization, we had to act accordingly and we did,” the general manager said during an afternoon news conference inside Canada Life Centre.

Province orders ban on private teacher-student messaging

Manitoba teachers are no longer allowed to text or use social media to contact a student – regardless of whether they coach a school sports team or supervise other activities outside typical instruction times.