Jubilee will be jumpin’

Big spike in catalytic converter thefts

Harvey Tschetter didn’t know someone was under his SUV when he was roused by the sounds of a power saw cutting metal and took a look around the vehicle outside his North Kildonan condo.

After finding nothing untoward and going back inside, he heard repeated hammer strikes and saw a vehicle idling next to his Mitsubishi RVR, which he’d purchased two days earlier. Someone was trying to steal the SUV’s catalytic converter.

“I ran out there and I screamed at them, ‘What the F do you think you’re doing?’ They crawled out from under my car, held the hammer up like, don’t come near me, and drove off,” Tschetter said of the June 8 incident. “It was 5 a.m. and completely light out. I can’t believe how brazen they were. They showed no fear.”

The incident happened amid a sharp year-over-year increase in reports of catalytic converter thefts or attempted thefts to Manitoba Public Insurance, after record highs in 2021 and 2022 led to increased enforcement, provincial anti-theft legislation and a period of significant decline.

Teacher disciplinary panel will make history today

A professional disciplinary panel will assemble today to hear serious allegations against a Manitoba teacher.

The public hearing — a first-of-its-kind videoconference scheduled for 10 a.m. — will take place more than 18 months after the province launched a professional disciplinary system and teacher registry.

“In a hearing, it’s the teacher against me, basically,” said Noni Classen, Manitoba’s independent commissioner of teacher professional conduct.

Both parties are expected to make their respective arguments in front of a three-person panel consisting of one teacher, one non-teacher and one individual nominated by the Manitoba School Boards Association.

City dermatologist penalized again for misconduct

A Winnipeg dermatologist has been allowed to continue practising — albeit with a reduced scope — after pursuing a relationship with a female patient and seeing another patient without a required chaperone at a time when his office was normally closed.

A College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba inquiry panel, in a June 30 disciplinary decision, said it was concerned with Dr. Earl Minuk’s level of contrition and future compliance, while noting his pattern of violating professional boundaries.

A shortage of specialists factored into the decision to allow him to continue to practise.

“CPSM carefully considers the need to protect the public while balancing the need for access to care. Dr. Minuk’s expertise includes managing a condition that can be disfiguring if left untreated,” the college said in a statement Tuesday.

Spike in safety concerns doesn’t feel like harm reduction

It’s after dinner when a couple of young boys appear on my porch. I recognize them from the neighbourhood, but they’re not here to ask my kids to come out for a game of basketball. Instead, one asks, “Is it OK to come in for a little bit. There’s a guy out there and he’s scaring us.”

Search continues for brothers feared drowned at Nutimik Lake

Search-and-rescue crews continued efforts Monday to locate two boys who are presumed drowned after falling into fast-moving rapids at Nutimik Lake on the weekend, as community members and Manitoba Parks begin conversations about preventing future tragedies.

The boys, identified as brothers Aaron Au Ramirez, 13, and Maximo Au Ramirez, 10, were visiting Whiteshell Provincial Park with their father and some friends when they entered the water near the Sturgeon Falls Trail Saturday afternoon.

Lac du Bonnet RCMP received a report of a possible drowning at about 12:40 p.m. Police, along with local emergency responders, searched the shoreline and waterways but were unable to find the boys, RCMP said in a news release.

The Manitoba RCMP Underwater Recovery Team and the Hutterian Emergency Aquatic Response Team were later deployed to assist with the search.

Drug crisis on their doorsteps

The laughter of children playing outside has been replaced by open drug use, vandalism and incidents of theft that have put residents of West Broadway on edge.