City wants your help to talk trash

The City of Winnipeg wants to hear what you think about garbage and waste-management at an exposition planned for Saturday, Nov. 13. The forum, which will be held at the Winnipeg Convention Centre, is open to the public. The city wants the public’s help to develop a waste-management strategy to be presented to council in November 2011, the Winnipeg Free Press reports. A city manager told the Free Press that the city hopes to divert more waste away from landfills, as Winnipeg’s waste-diversion rate is 17 per cent and one of the lowest in Canada. The day-long exposition will feature roundtable discussions and presentations from waste-management experts. The public can register by calling 311 or by visiting speakupwinnipeg.com.

Many fresh faces elected in rural elections

Elections throughout Manitoba last week brought plenty of change. Larry Johannson, a grocery store manager, won the mayor’s seat from incumbent David Bell in Selkirk last Wednesday, Oct. 27. Selkirk residents expected a close race, but Johannson’s win over Bell with more than 2,500 votes caught many residents by surprise, the Winnipeg Free Press reports. Johannson first won a city councillor seat four years ago and then became a development committee chairperson. He is credited with spearheading the creation of a major hotel in Selkirk, as a company has purchased land in order to open accommodations. Elsewhere in Manitoba, Morden’s incumbent mayor lost to Ken Wiebe. In La Broquerie, Claude Lussier won the spot of reeve over Marielle Wiebe. As reeve and council did not run again in the RM of Gimli or in West St. Paul, Bruce Henry is West St. Paul’s new reeve, while Lynn Greenberg is the new mayor of the RM of Gimli.

Gimli declares disaster

Last Thursday, Oct. 28, the newly elected Gimli council was sworn in and officially declared a disaster in order to get government aid. The town and rural municipality were pummeled with water from Lake Winnipeg driven inshore by strong winds. Manitoba MLA Peter Bjornson, who represents the riding, said last Thursday that he would try his best to get the aid necessary for the RM. The municipal emergency coordinator described the situation as a “lake that was charged up on steroids,” the CBC reports. “Waves (were) coming right over and breaching all of the flood prevention measures that were in place,” he said. The region is now recovering, with crews pumping water from roadways and repairing dikes and shorelines. Residents of Willow Island, an area just south of the town of Gimli, evacuated voluntarily last Wednesday in response to the weather conditions.

Reward for shooting tips

For each tip leading to an arrest in the three shootings that occurred last weekend, the Winnipeg Police will offer a $2,000 reward. A 13-year-old girl was injured and two men were killed during the shootings that occurred in just over half an hour last Saturday in the North End. The investigation has yielded few results – police are unsure whether there are one or more suspects or whether the shootings were random or linked. Tommy Beardy, 35, and Ian Layton MacDonald, 52, both died in the shootings. Samantha Stevenson, 13, was struck in her abdomen by a bullet fired by a man dressed in black. She is recovering in hospital, the CBC reports. Call Crime Stoppers at 786-8477 with any information.

Published in Volume 65, Number 10 of The Uniter (November 4, 2010)