News briefs for September 18, 2018

Janice Lukes has been acclaimed as the councillor for the new ward of Waverley West.

Lukes is the only council candidate acclaimed for the Oct. 24 Winnipeg civic election. While 10 candidates had registered for the mayoral campaign, only eight filed their nomination papers, including incumbent Brian Bowman.

Lukes was first elected in 2014 for the old ward of St. Norbert (currently called South Winnipeg-St. Norbert). It was effectively split into two following a review by the 2017 wards boundary review commission: Waverley West and St. Norbert-Seine River.

The deadline for all candidates to file their nomination papers was 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The city’s clerk’s office released the following list of nominated candidates for mayor and ward councillors.

Candidates have until 4:30 pm Wednesday to withdraw their names. An official list of candidates, whose names will appear on the Oct. 24 ballot, will be released after that.

Nominated candidates

Mayor

Umar Hayat

Jenny Motkaluk

Brian Bowman

Don Woodstock

Tim Diack

Ed Ackerman

Venkat Machiraju

Doug Wilson

 

Charleswood-Tuxedo

Ken St. George

Kevin Nichols

Grant Nordman

Kevin Klein

 

Daniel McIntyre

Cindy Gilroy

Josh Brandon

Sarowar Miah

 

Elmwood-East Kildonan

Robb Massey

Jason Schreyer

 

Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry

Michael Thompson

Peter Koroma

Sherri Rollins

Jeff Palmer

Bryanna Spina

Harry Wolbert

Stephanie Meilluer

Mynarski

Greg Littlejohn

Micheal Wiens

Ross Eadie

Dave Capar

 

North Kildonan

Jeff Browaty

Andrew Podolecki

 

Old Kildonan

Kaud Sidhu

Devi Sharma

Bradley Gross

 

Point Douglas

Dean Koshelanyk

Vivian Santos

Kate Sjoberg

 

River Heights-Fort Garry

Gary Lenko

John Orlikow

Garth Steek

 

St. Boniface

Matt Allard

Marcel Boille

 

St. James

Scott Gillingham

Shawn Dobson

Kurt Morton

 

St. Norbert-Seine River

Nancy Cooke

Glenn Churchill

Markus Chambers

Nikolas Joyal

Chris Davis

 

St. Vital

Brian Mayes

Baljeet Sharma

 

Transcona

Alex Allard

Steven Lipischak

Basil Evan

Shawn Nason

Shane Geschiere

Wally Welechenko

Sandeep Sharma

Raymond Ulasy

 

Waverley West

Janice Lukes

A 28-year-old Steinbach man who sexually assaulted teenage boys and downloaded child pornography has been sentenced to five years in prison. 

Elgin Brent Penner pleaded guilty Tuesday to three counts of sexual assault and one count each of marijuana trafficking, possession of child pornography and indecent phone communications after a lengthy RCMP investigation that found he was dealing marijuana, offering the drug to teens and groping them.

A 14-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy both told police Penner touched them for a sexual purpose. A third boy, 15, came forward last year to report Penner forced oral sex on him.

Penner also admitted sending a lewd Snapchat video of himself to a group of people, including underage boys. Police searched his computer and found several images of child pornography involving young boys.

"The fact of the matter is, there’s an illness there that has gone untreated," provincial court Judge Ryan Rolston said as he sentenced Penner in Winnipeg Tuesday, agreeing with a prison sentence jointly recommended by Crown and defence lawyers. 

Penner will be on the sex offender registry for the rest of his life. He agreed to a three-year court order that prohibits him from using Snapchat or Facebook Messenger apps on his phone after he’s released from prison.

The Crown stayed several additional criminal charges against him after he pleaded guilty Tuesday.

Winnipeg sent three players, all defenceman, back to their Canadian junior teams Tuesday.

Declan Chisholm was assigned to Peterborough of the Ontario Hockey League, Giovanni Vallati was returned to Oshawa of the OHL and Leon Gawanke was sent to Cape Breton of the Quebec Major Junior League.

The Jets still have 27 forwards, 17 defencemen and five goalies at training camp, which resumed Wednesday morning at the Iceplex.

 A Winnipeg woman who admitted to being an accessory to murder is now wanted by police after she failed to show up for her sentencing hearing.

A warrant was issued Tuesday morning for Holley Alyssa Sullivan’s arrest after she missed her court date in front of Court of Queen’s Bench Justice David Kroft.

Sullivan pleaded guilty in February to being an accessory to murder after the death of 42-year-old Jennifer Barrett. Barrett was allegedly beaten to death in August 2016; her remains were hidden inside a barrel and left to decompose at a residential property on Forest Lake Drive in Winnipeg.

Perez Adaryll Cleveland was charged with first-degree murder, and has pleaded not guilty as he awaits trial.

Sullivan, who had been living in Calgary, was 28 when she was charged with accessory to murder after the fact, along with 34-year-old Jessica Reid. Reid’s trial is set to begin in January.

Sullivan had been released on bail and was set to have her sentencing hearing Tuesday. The hearing has now been delayed.

All three accused reportedly lived with Barrett in the house at 38 Forest Lake Dr., which had been vacant since November 2016. Police got a tip about human remains in a barrel and searched the home Dec. 1, publicly announcing the homicide the following February.

Race to the Rescue features Chase, Marshall, Skye and the rest of the PAW Patrol gang teaming up with Ryder to rescue Adventure Bay’s Mayor Goodway.

If that means anything to you, you probably have kids under five who will be very excited that the popular Nickelodeon show PAW Patrol is bringing a live version of the animated kids favourite to the Centennial Concert Hall for five shows: Jan. 3 at 6 p.m.; Jan. 4 at 6 p.m.; and Jan. 5 at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Tickets start at $22 and go on sale Friday, Sept. 28 at centennialconcerthall.com and 204-949-3999. A limited number of VIP tickets are available for $145, which include premium seating, a lanyard and an after-show meet-and-greet with the characters.

 

Acting Manitoba Ombudsman Marc Cormier says his office will look into how the Manitoba government handled the release of soil test results in St. Boniface this summer.

In a news release, Cormier said he will investigate whether the government’s decision-making process was consistent with applicable policy and legislation, such as the Election Financing Act.

The Progressive Conservative government had said that it was prevented by law from releasing information on high lead counts in soil during the St. Boniface byelection.

The Manitoba NDP requested that the Ombudsman’s office look into the matter.

“I believe looking more closely into this complaint can help to shed light on this specific incident and to bring greater clarity to the process for releasing this type of government information generally,” said Cormier.

 
 

Local singer-songwriter JP Hoe’s annual JP Hoe Hoe Hoe Holiday Show will once again return to the Burton Cummings Theatre this December. 

The hugely popular festive concert will take over the theatre Dec. 14 and features Hoe and a cast of his musical buds getting into the holiday spirit by way of carols, skits, over-the-top stage decore and general merriment.   

"With trimmings of campy decorations, timeless moments from pop culture, and at the heart of it, a winter concert," writes Hoe in a message on the event’s Facebook page.

If this overflowing cup of holiday cheer is right up your alley, you’ll want to grab your tickets fast; this one-night-only event often sells out.

Tickets are $39.50 for adults and $20 for kids aged 12 and under. Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. at Ticketmaster.

A portion of the proceeds goes to the Christmas Cheer Board.

The first Manitoba Metis daycare services are expected to roll out in the next year on the heels of a new funding agreement with the federal government.

The funding, worth $1.7 billion, is for early childhood learning and child care initatives on First Nations and in Metis and Inuit communities.

Some $450 million will be allocated to Metis communities in Canada, including more than $112 million to the Manitoba Metis Federation.

A 25-year-old woman suspected in 19 liquor store heists and three retail store robberies was caught on Monday after being stopped by security officers from a retail store and held until police arrived.

Winnipeg police said the woman is a suspect in the theft of liquor worth $3,760 from numerous stores between June 15 and Aug. 27 where she would go into the store, grab some alcohol and leave without paying for any of it.

She is also suspected in thefts of merchandise worth about $655 from three retail stores, including one on Aug. 4 on the 600 block of Empress Street when two women used a metal pipe to threaten employees who tried to stop them from taking about $360 worth of goods.

The woman was caught by police after she tried to rob a retail store in the 1200 block of St. Mary’s Road a second time. The first time, on Sept. 10, she threatened security staff with a knife, said she had bear spray and got away with about $95 worth of merchandise. She came back on Monday night and tried to leave with $200 worth of product, but security staff intervened until police arrived and arrested her.

Alicia Yvonne Leitch of Winnipeg is facing a number of theft and robbery charges. She is being held in custody.

The late Melvin (Fritz) Hanson, considered to be the first football superstar in Winnipeg, has been named the 11th member to the Blue Bombers Ring of Honour.

Hanson, a Minnesota native who was five-foot-seven and weighed 145 pounds during his playing days, will be honoured at halftime of Friday’s home game against the Montreal Alouettes.

Hanson arrived in Winnipeg in 1935, during the Great Depression, and immediately helped lead the Winnipegs, as they were known back then, to a Grey Cup, making it the first time in league history the championship was won by a team from Western Canada. In seven seasons with Winnipeg, Hanson was named an all-star five times, won the Lionel Conacher Award as Canada’s Male Athlete of the Year in 1939, and helped the club capture two more championships in 1939 and 1941.

He became a Canadian citizen in 1966, long after joining the Canadian Army when the Second World War broke out. Hanson played with the Winnipeg Light Infantry squad from 1942-44 and the Bombers in 1945 before wrapping up his career in Calgary, helping the Stampeders capture the 1948 Grey Cup.

Dr. Frank Plummer, an internationally-renowned medical microbiologist from the University of Manitoba, has been named the recipient of the Flavelle Medal by the Royal Society of Canada.

Plummer, who has made many vital discoveries related to HIV/AIDS, will receive the award for his outstanding contributions to biological science. 

Global interventions and campaigns have been built on his work, and these currently save tens of thousands of people annually, the U of M stated in a press release.

Plummer is widely known for his work in researching the immune systems and genetics of a group of women in Kenya who had a natural immunity to HIV-1, the virus that leads to AIDS.

Improved HIV vaccine and drug development for world-wide use resulted from the discoveries he made in his research.

A 22-year-old Winnipeg man suspected of using Methamphetamine prior to an attempted robbery of a downtown convenience store Monday night was quickly apprehended by police.

Winnipeg police said a man had gone into a convenience store in the 100 block of Hargrave Street at about 5 p.m., demanded access to an attached building but was refused by the store employee. The man then pulled out a knife and tried to steal lottery tickets, but failed and fled.

Officers who searched the area quickly found and arrested a suspect at Garry Street and St. Mary Avenue. Police said a knife was found in the pocket of the man’s pants and the man told officers he had injected meth earlier in the day.

Moses Bradley Swan is facing robbery and weapons charges along with four counts of violating probation.

Mayoral candidate Jenny Motkaluk has announced a process overhaul she plans to bring to city hall to provide taxpayers better value on major capital projects.

Motkaluk wants to change the way city contracts are awarded for engineering, architectural planning and construction work.

She said she would implement a more efficient procurement process, such as a qualifications-based selection model, that would pay dividends for taxpayers.

"The adversarial lowest bid RFP process that we use today to procure engineering design work is inefficient, inadequate and leads to a rushed design process that results in increased costs in the long run," Motkaluk said.

 

Jeremy Dutcher has won the 2018 Polaris Music Prize for the album Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa.

"Psiw-te npomawsuwinuwok, kiluwaw yut. All my people, this is for you," said the New Brunswick-born, Toronto-based composer-singer at the awards ceremony Monday night in Toronto. 

The Polaris goes to the best Canadian album of the year based on artistic merit without regard to genre, sales history or label affiliation. It was determined by a grand jury of 11 music-media professionals drawn from the greater Polaris jury pool of almost 200 writers, editors, broadcasters, DJs and personalities from across the country, including Free Press music writer Erin Lebar. 

Dutcher, who is from the Tobique First Nation, performed his composition Masceptasu in Winnipeg last year with choral group Camerata Nova.

His Polaris-winning album, whose name translates to Our Maliseet Songs, is based on wax-cylinder recordings of traditional Maliseet songs made in 1907.

This summer was the busiest ever for Winnipeg Richardson International Airport.

A total of 895,381 passengers came through the airport this July and August, compared to 863,942 in 2017.

Airport officials attributed the increase partially to greater traffic from low-cost carrier Flair Air, as well as Swoop Airlines, which entered the market in June.

August was the busiest single month ever for the Winnipeg airport with 462,719 passengers, a 3.4 per cent increase over August 2017. July was up 3.9 per cent over the previous July.

 

 

The first all-candidate mayoral forum of the civic election is being held tonight at the University of Winnipeg.

Candidates will get three minutes to give fast pitches on their vision for a greener Winnipeg to a panel of environmental organizations. Following the pitches, questions will be posed to the candidates.

Candidates will be asked to share their perspectives on six themes: organic waste diversion, water, transportation, urban development and design, single-use plastic and Winnipeg’s climate action plan.

The mayoral forum is being organized by more than a dozen groups, including the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Green Action Centre, Functional Transit and the Manitoba Energy Justice Coalition.

The event is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the University of Winnipeg Eckhardt-Gramatté Hall.

If you still have a hankering to hear some of the Beatles’ biggest hits after seeing Paul McCartney next week, Rain —  A Tribute to the Beatles has you covered. 

The tribute band will make a stop at the Burton Cummings Theatre April 16, 2019, and in celebration of the anniversary of the release of Abbey Road, they will "bring the greatest hits to life" from that album, as well as other early favourites. 

Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. at Ticketmaster.

The Coalition for Portage and Main says a number of key downtown stakeholders have come out in favour of reopening the iconic city intersection to foot traffic.

James Richardson & Sons, the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce and Harvard Buildings Inc., are all in favour of reopening the intersection, saying it’s vital to future economic development, according to a coalition press release.

“We have an empty lot that is adjacent to our current building and we would love to develop it. I think the single biggest impediment to us moving forward with a vision for development is the fact that people can’t get to it,” Rosanne Hill Blaisdell, Harvard Buildings managing director said.

Blaisdell’s comments came at the Coalition for Portage and Main campaign storefront where supporters can film testimonials laying out the reasons why they plan to vote yes in the coming Oct. 24 referendum.

A sizeable charitable donation will see joint research projects carried out by St. Boniface Hospital and the Montreal Heart Institute.

The Molson Foundation, which awards grants to Canadian health facilities, has donated $2.5 million to the St. Boniface Hospital Foundation and the Montreal Heart Institute Foundation.

That money will go towards funding a variety of new, major research projects focused on women’s cardiovascular health.

The projects will include studies on things like the early detection of heart disease in older women and the treatment of high blood pressure in women, among other efforts.

“The Montreal Heart Institute and St. Boniface Hospital of Winnipeg are leaders in the fight against cardiovascular disease. Our foundation is therefore extremely happy to contribute to a collaborative approach to research specifically into women’s heart health,” Andrew T. Molson, president of the Molson Foundation, said.