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River East Transcona targets library technicians for layoffs

Maggie Macintosh 3 minute read 11:52 AM CDT

A Winnipeg school division known for its high standards for library services is laying off technicians and assigning remaining employees to oversee multiple collections in order to balance its budget.

River East Transcona School Division, in which roughly 17,000 students are registered, notified employees about “restructuring” plans for kindergarten-to-Grade 12 libraries last week.

Affected library technicians — whose current duties include undertaking clerical work, cataloging materials and helping students sign out books — have been given the option to retire, resign or apply for a modified position.

There are currently 42 positions in charge of managing daily operations in book and media centres across RETSD — or 34 full-time equivalent library technicians, given some employees have multiple part-time jobs.

This Just In

Investigation into fatal assault spree ends with four arrests

Friday, 9:58 AM CDT

Winnipeg police have arrested four suspects in relation to a spate of assaults in Point Douglas that left three people dead last summer.

The suspects and victims did not know each other, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a release Friday.

On August 22, 2022, Danielle Ballantyne, 36, Marvin Felix, 54, and Troy Baguley, 51, were seriously assaulted. Ballantyne was found dead inside a Jarvis Avenue apartment, while Felix died of his injuries days later.

Baguley, who suffered life-altering damage in the attack, never recovered from his injuries and died March 3, 2023.

On March 21, investigators arrested 21-year-old Tristan Colten Moose at Headingley Correctional Centre, charging him with second-degree murder in relation to Baguley, police said.

Officers have also arrested three youths, ages 14-, 15-, and 16-years-old.

The elder teens were arrested shortly after the assault and held at the Manitoba Youth Centre, while the younger teen was arrested at his home April 5.

Police have finished their investigation and all four suspects remain in custody, police said.

Three charged in Wasagamack shooting

Thursday, 12:12 PM CDT

Island Lake RCMP have arrested three people in connection to the shooting of a Wasagamack First Nation man on Monday.

The victim, 27, had to be flown to Winnipeg for medical treatment after he was injured around 12:35 p.m., RCMP said. He remains in hospital. Mounties initially arrested a 35-year-old man early Tuesday morning, but he's since been released without charge.

A 23-year-old man has been charged with aggravated assault, discharging a firearm with intent, careless use of a firearm and using a firearm in the commission of an offence. He's still in custody, RCMP said.

Two men, 27 and 31, are charged with obstruction for trying to enter and then clean a crime scene the community's safety officers had secured. They're still in custody.

Woman slain in Thompson

Thursday, 11:23 AM CDT

RCMP are investigating after a woman was found dead in a house in Thompson last month.

Thompson RCMP said on Thursday the 36-year-old woman was found and pronounced dead in a residence on Grey Wolf Bay on March 24.

But RCMP said it wasn’t until an autopsy was done that officers confirmed she was the victim of a homicide on April 4.

Anyone with any information about the incident is asked to call RCMP at either 204-677-6909 or 204-677-6911, or leave an anonymous tip at Crime Stoppers at either 1-800-222-8477 or manitobacrimestoppers.com.

 

Vacant home hit by fire again

Wednesday, 2:02 PM CDT

A fire broke out on a property on Pritchard Avenue early Wednesday for the third time in less than a year.

Firefighters were sent to the vacant two-storey house in the 600 block of Pritchard Avenue at 4:51 a.m.

The fire was declared under control at 7:21 a.m. Firefighters also worked to protect neighbouring homes.

No one was inside when firefighters entered the house.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

There were previous fires on the property last month and in July, the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said.

The July fire was contained to an outbuilding attached to the house. The WFPS said at the time that the house and garage had already sustained heavy damage from a previous fire or fires.

Body found outside in Snow Lake

Wednesday, 1:18 PM CDT

RCMP are investigating after a man's body was found outside a business in Snow Lake.

RCMP were sent to the scene on Lakeshore Drive at about 2:15 p.m. Tuesday and found the body of a 44-year-old Thompson man in the snow.

The cause of death has yet to be determined but it is believed the man had been outside for a period of time, during which the temperature had dropped to as low as -24 C.

RCMP and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner are investigating.

<p>JESSICA LEE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS</p>
<p>Archbishop Richard Gagnon walks carrying a cross on Osborne St. on Friday for the Way of the Cross walk. Hundreds joined him in singing and reflecting while they walked.</p>

Walk this way

JESSICA LEE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Archbishop Richard Gagnon walks carrying a cross on Osborne St. on Friday for the Way of the Cross walk. Hundreds joined him in singing and reflecting while they walked.

Tories accused of playing politics with MPI

Danielle Da Silva 5 minute read Preview

Tories accused of playing politics with MPI

Danielle Da Silva 5 minute read Yesterday at 6:59 PM CDT

Manitoba New Democrats have accused the Tory government of using an external review of Manitoba Public Insurance as political cover for a potential rate hike, arguing customers should know before the fall election if their Autopac bill will increase.

In question period Thursday, MPI critic MLA Matt Wiebe challenged the government to reassure ratepayers their costs won’t spike in the wake of an organizational review at the Crown corporation.

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Yesterday at 6:59 PM CDT

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES

“We are taking the initiative to ensure that we bring MPI into the 21st century,” Wharton said. “Our government will definitely not put ratepayers at risk.”

Creating goodness with every Easter egg

Malak Abas 4 minute read Preview

Creating goodness with every Easter egg

Malak Abas 4 minute read 9:23 AM CDT

At Immaculate Heart of Mary School, Grade 5 students from all walks of life listen intently as their teacher tells them a Ukrainian folk tale: the more pysanky eggs that are made, the more goodness will prevail.

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9:23 AM CDT

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Pysanky eggs are made with melted beeswax and dye. They are an Easter tradition.

Families minister receives initial report on Link services

Carol Sanders 2 minute read Preview

Families minister receives initial report on Link services

Carol Sanders 2 minute read Yesterday at 7:13 PM CDT

The Manitoba government has received an interim report concerning service delivery and financial accountability at one of the province’s largest child welfare service providers.

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Yesterday at 7:13 PM CDT

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES

Families Minister Rochelle Squires said Deloitte has filed an interim report from its review of the Link (formerly Macdonald Youth Services) and that she is reviewing it.

Russia hits illegally annexed Ukraine areas from ground, air

The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Russia hits illegally annexed Ukraine areas from ground, air

The Associated Press 4 minute read Updated: 12:08 PM CDT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces used ground- and air-fired missiles, rocket launchers and weaponized drones to bombard the provinces of Ukraine it has illegally annexed but doesn't fully control, causing casualties, building damage and power outages Friday.

The Ukrainian military said Russian forces launched 18 airstrikes, five missile strikes and 53 attacks from multiple rocket launchers between Thursday and Friday mornings.

According to the General Staff statement, Russia was concentrating the bulk of its offensive operations in Ukraine’s industrial east, focusing on the cities and towns of Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka in Donetsk province.

Most of Friday's battlefield reports concerned the four Ukrainian provinces Russia annexed in September: Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his military to gain complete control of the provinces, while Ukraine has indicated it will soon launch a counteroffensive to take back more territory.

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Updated: 12:08 PM CDT

People receive humanitarian aid at a distribution spot in Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine, Friday, April 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko)

North Dakota at ‘crossroads’ as major flood fears rise

Kevin Rollason 3 minute read Preview

North Dakota at ‘crossroads’ as major flood fears rise

Kevin Rollason 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 9:40 PM CDT

The Colorado low weather system that recently dumped snow on both sides of the international border, accompanied by snow that hasn’t melted yet in North Dakota, has U.S. forecasters bumping up the risk of a major flood.

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Updated: Yesterday at 9:40 PM CDT

Jim Kaiser, a warning co-ordination specialist with the National Weather Service, said 14 cm of snow in Fargo, N.D., and amounts in communities and fields across eastern North Dakota and western Minnesota, has increased the chances of a flood on the U.S. side. (Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press files)

Patients, critics question the way Manitoba’s physician watchdog handles cases of misconduct and discipline

Katrina Clarke 12 minute read Preview

Patients, critics question the way Manitoba’s physician watchdog handles cases of misconduct and discipline

Katrina Clarke 12 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 5:05 PM CDT

At least five Winnipeg-area doctors have conditions on their medical licences limiting the treatment they can provide to female patients, a Free Press investigation reveals.

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Updated: Yesterday at 5:05 PM CDT

Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press

Indigenous friendship centre to rise again in Winnipeg

Malak Abas 4 minute read Preview

Indigenous friendship centre to rise again in Winnipeg

Malak Abas 4 minute read Yesterday at 6:51 PM CDT

It’s the first step to bringing back an important community organization for Indigenous people in Winnipeg.

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Yesterday at 6:51 PM CDT

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Plans for the new centre, which include a drop-in space, community centre, bingo hall and residence for Indigenous elders, were unveiled at Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre Thursday.

Winter uses of city golf courses debated

Joyanne Pursaga 4 minute read Preview

Winter uses of city golf courses debated

Joyanne Pursaga 4 minute read Yesterday at 5:01 PM CDT

To use its golf courses to their full potential, the City of Winnipeg must devote more attention to the winter use of the green spaces, according to several residents.

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Yesterday at 5:01 PM CDT

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES

Windsor Park Nordic Centre is located at the Windsor Park Golf Course.

Killer’s father outs witnesses as ‘rats’

Dean Pritchard 5 minute read Preview

Killer’s father outs witnesses as ‘rats’

Dean Pritchard 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 12:38 PM CDT

When Tron Gamblin took to Facebook and outed two women whose testimony in court helped convict his son of murder, he condemned them to a lifetime of fear and “looking over their shoulder,” a court was told this week.

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Updated: Yesterday at 12:38 PM CDT

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Jesse Gamblin was convicted in the 2019 murder of Norma Andrews.

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