News briefs for Monday, December 19, 2022

The Christmas Cheer Board needs a few good Santas — with vehicles instead of reindeer.

Cheer Board executive director Shawna Bell said the organization needs drivers to deliver 10,000 food hampers this week.

Bell said they were hindered by the bad weather last week and higher-than-normal hamper requests.

She also encouraged people who ordered hampers to pick them up themselves if they can.

The Cheer Board warehouse, at 1821 Wellington Ave., is open all week from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The Brady Road landfill and 4R depot are closed for the second consecutive day, according to the City of Winnipeg.

Protesters set up a camp outside the site to call for a search and justice for Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran, Rebecca Contois and Buffalo Woman.

Police believe the women were killed by an alleged serial killer.

No criminal charges will be laid against a police officer who shot and killed a man in Winnipeg’s North End neighbourhood earlier this year.

The officer fired following a confrontation involving a man who aggressively approached a police vehicle armed with a knife at Mountain Avenue and Salter Street on June 17, 2022. The man later died.

After a six-month investigation, the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba has found no reasonable grounds to lay any charges against the Winnipeg Police Service officer.

Russell RCMP have arrested a woman accused of hitting a child with her purse at random before assaulting an employee at a business last Thursday evening.

Mounties were called to a business on Main Street in the small community near the Saskatchewan border at about 6:45 p.m., where a woman had assaulted an employee. The employee locked herself in a back room then called police.

Officers arrested the woman, who police said was combative and spitting at the Mounties. She then kicked at the windows of an RCMP vehicle while she was being taken to the detachment. Inside the station, she tried to assault officers and wouldn’t identify herself.

Officers then learned the woman had just minutes prior to the assault at the business approached a man and five-year-old who were out shoveling snow and struck the kid. The child was not hurt.

A 33-year-old woman from Waywayseecappo First Nation is charged with two counts each of assaulting a peace officer, mischief, assault, obstructing a peace officer and resisting arrest. She’s also charged with one count of assault with a weapon.

A man was killed in a fire in Traverse Bay early Saturday.

The man was found inside the home by firefighters after they extinguished the blaze.

RCMP was told about the fire on Leon Drive at about 3:20 a.m.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The former Kapyong Barracks lands were officially converted to a reserve held by Treaty One First Nations, marking a new milestone for Manitoba’s largest First Nation-led urban economic development zone.

Treaty One First Nations — a group of seven First Nations — expects to break ground on Naawi-Oodena’s first phase next spring.

The urban reserve comes after two decades of negotiations, planning and legal battles with Canadian government, noted Chief Gordon BlueSky, Treaty One’s chairperson.

The reserve’s first phase will include 100 residential units and 300,000 sq. ft. of commercial space. Construction will begin at the corner of Kenaston Boulevard and Taylor Avenue.

Overall construction of the site is expected to last up to 15 years.

Three people have been charged, including two teen girls, with attempted murder in connection to a hotel fire on Sunday.

Winnipeg police said officers and other emergency personnel were called to the fire in a hotel on the 3700 block of Portage Avenue at about 2:50 a.m. Sunday, where a woman was found unconscious and in critical condition. She was stabilized in hospital.

Officers determined three people suspected to be linked to the fire had fled. They found a 14-year-old girl nearby, before finding an 18-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl near Livinia Avenue and Isbister Street, where they also seized a sawed-off gun.

Cassis Vaughn Malcom, 18, is charged with attempted murder, arson with disregard for human life, and unauthorized possession of a firearm. A 16-year-old girl is charged with attempted murder, arson with disregard for human life, possession of a firearm knowing it’s unauthorized, identity fraud, four counts of failing to comply with court orders, and on three warrants. A 14-year-old girl is charged with attempted murder and arson with disregard for human life.

One of two people accused of using bear spray during a robbery at Wilderness Supply has been arrested.

Winnipeg police said on Monday a man was arrested on Sunday at about 11 p.m.

Police said two suspects entered the outdoor supply store in the first 100 block of Isabel Street on Saturday at about 1:36 p.m., and tried to shoplift items.

When the pair was confronted by staff, one used bear spray on the employees, causing them pain as well as causing about $3,000 in damage to merchandise.

Nicki Gilbert Beardy, 29, of Winnipeg, has been charged with robbery and possession of a weapon.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call investigators at 204-986-6219 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-TIPS (8477).

 

Food banks in Manitoba are set to get a boost this season as the provincial government announces $3-million in funding for Harvest Manitoba.

The $3-million grant is to be used to support food banks in rural and urban areas of the province, the government announced today.

Premier Heather Stefanson made the announcement alongside Families Minister Rochelle Squires Monday afternoon.

“As we approach the new year, and look back on the year that was, we know Manitobans have been through a lot. From the global pandemic, to flooding, the unjust war on Ukraine, and rising costs and record inflationary pressures,” Stefanson stated in a government news release. “As a government, we are listening and we are acting to support those most in need. This $3-million investment will help ensure food banks have sufficient resources to support Manitobans over the coming months.”

Reid Carruthers is losing his third.

Team Carruthers announced on social media Monday afternoon that Jason Gunnlaugson, who joined forces with Carruthers prior to the 2022 curling season, is leaving the team.

“While this decision was not easy, all players have agreed this is the best decision moving forward,” said Team Carruthers in a written statement.

The team is on the hunt for a replacement player and expects to make an announcement at a later date.

The Manitoba men’s provincials take place Feb. 7-12 in Neepawa.