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OT costs soar: Overtime will be a permanent problem for the fire paramedic service until the staffing complement is brought up to adequate levels, Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service Chief John Lane told city council’s finance committee Thursday. Lane was asking the committee for a $1.3-million bump to the WFPS 2016 budget, largely because firefighter overtime costs will be double what had been expected. He said that the WFPS had budgeted $2.1 million for OT costs in 2016, but it’s going to be $2.7 million higher. READ MORE
Your forecast: The rain will continue until the evening, with amounts totalling anywhere from 10 to 15 mm. Expect a high of 17. However, Saturday promises to be sunny and mild, with a high of 21. As for Sunday, there’s a 60 per cent chance of showers and an expected high of 22.
In case you missed it
JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESSLorne Mansky, with the All Saints Kinsmen, was one of many volunteers making breakfast for 500-600 people at the United Way Community Breakfast and Campaign Kickoff at Hugh John Macdonald School.
United Way: Instead of setting an annual fundraising goal, the United Way this year has a new longer term approach to helping kids and families in need. The new three-year strategy focuses on four areas: providing more mentors for kids, more access for kids to mental health supports, connecting more people with jobs, skills and money management training, and helping more families access community and resource centres. READ MORE
Tests voluntary: It’s your call, Manitoba Public Insurance insisted Thursday — take a roadside breathalyzer if you wish, offer saliva if you’re in the mood. Even though you’re at a Checkstop and police are nearby, MPI said the 1,200 saliva samples it hopes to gather this month will be given entirely voluntarily. With the possibility of legalized marijuana in the future, MPI wants to establish a baseline of drug use by drivers. So it’s gathering information from drivers. READ MORE
Casino staying: Premier Brian Pallister has poured cold water on plans by a First Nation casino at The Pas to relocate to Winnipeg. The owners of Aseneskak Casino at Opaskwayak Cree Nation have been in discussions to move the casino to land near Assiniboia Downs to take advantage of a larger market. But Pallister said Thursday the move isn’t in the cards. READ MORE
Up next
Baseball showdown: Winnipeg Goldeyes travel to Kansas this weekend to decide the American Association championship. Wichita Wingnuts defeated the Fish 9-2 at Shaw Park on Thursday. The best-of-five series is now tied 1-1. READ MORE
Around the water cooler
WINNIPEG POLICE SERVICEPolice, armed with a search warrant, raided a West End hotel Monday and seized 1,477 doses that investigators suspect is carfentanil with an estimated street value of $30,000.
Drug deadly: Winnipeg police have a man in custody after seizing a substance believed to be carfentanil — an opioid for elephants that’s 100 times more potent than fentanyl. Grayson Richard Parris, 37, of Winnipeg faces several drug-related charges, including trafficking. Police raided a West End motel this week seizing 1,477 doses of the drug, which has an estimated street value of $30,000. READ MORE
James paroled: A decision to grant convicted sex offender Graham James full parole has sparked outrage from some of the players he abused when he was a junior hockey coach. James, 64, is serving a federal sentence for sexually assaulting players with the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League in the late 1980s and early ’90s.The Parole Board of Canada’s decision followed a hearing in Quebec, where James has lived for several years. READ MORE
Arson suspected: Arson investigators were called in to probe four house fires overnight Thursday in the North End. The four burnt homes are located on Aberdeen and Redwood avenues west of McGregor Street. No one was injured in the fires, which have the neighbourhood concerned. READ MORE
Trending now
#OneWordOffSongs: These sound like surefire hits: “Eye of the Tigger,” “Love Shaq,” “Fat Bottomed Squirrels,” and “99 Red Baboons.”
On this date
On Sept. 16, 1976: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that in Whitehorse, Yukon, a prison training manual singled out indigenous people and used racist stereotypes and language; the manual’s author was unknown. The chief of correctional services for the Northwest Territories said the racist material in the manual was never taught. News of the manual’s content was met with condemnation from indigenous leaders and government officials. In Montreal, Team Canada won the Canada Cup in hockey, and WHA player Bobby Hull was singled out as the star of the series. READ MORE
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