3 business break-ins; family member charged in theft of vehicle

Theft under $5,000

An 18-year-old woman was arrested on Sunday morning after allegedly stealing $200 worth of cosmetics and clothing from a business on the 900 block of Victoria Avenue.

Police say they located the woman a few blocks away from the store after she had fled with the items. The stolen items were returned, and the woman is due to appear in court on July 8.

Theft of vehicle

Federal government must track progress toward zero plastic waste goal: audit report

OTTAWA - Most federal programs aimed at reducing plastic waste are working, but the government isn't measuring its progress toward its overall goal of zero plastic waste by 2030, according to a new audit from Canada's environment commissioner.

The government launched an initiative in 2019 to create a circular economy for plastics by 2030 — meaning nothing goes to waste.

In his audit released Tuesday, environment commissioner Jerry DeMarco found that waste-reduction efforts in key federal departments were generally working well.

That included efforts by the Fisheries Department, which is meeting its targets to remove lost or discarded fishing gear — also known as ghost gear — from the water.

Nurse suspended for snooping

WINNIPEG — A Manitoba nurse has been suspended and fined after admitting to snooping through the personal health information of patients — the latest in a series of privacy breaches affecting thousands in recent years.

A review of discipline reports released by the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba revealed at least four other nurses have been punished for improperly accessing health information since 2018.

Collectively, the privacy violations have impacted as many as 2,140 patients.

“If I were part of the leadership of the (college), I would be alarmed,” said Arthur Schafer, former director of the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics at the University of Manitoba.

Man gets 6 months in jail for third DUI

A Brandon man was handed a six-month jail sentence for his third conviction for driving while under the influence of alcohol.

Ayden Scramstad, 23, pleaded guilty in provincial court on Monday to impaired driving and operating a vehicle while he was prohibited from driving.

Both the Crown and defence agreed on the sentence for Scramstad, who was also convicted of aggravated assault last year after a jury trial in the court of King’s Bench for breaking the jaw of a 17-year-old man in 2021.

Crown attorney Matthew Dueck read the evidence for the charges to the court.

Province launches community grants program

The Building Sustainable Communities initiative introduced by the previous provincial government is being replaced by a new $12.5-million community funding program.

“This new initiative will bring municipalities and community organizations on board to tackle root causes of poverty and exclusion and will engage kids in meaningful activities,” Municipal and Northern Relations Minister Ian Bushie said in a Monday press conference at the Brandon Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation’s building on Rosser Avenue.

“By keeping youth engaged in positive recreation through well-funded programs, we can have a huge impact that keeps them out of a lifestyle of drugs and gangs,” Bushie said.

The minister said the program is intended to become permanent and not a one-off.

Hawk takes flight

A hawk lifts off from a fencepost along a grid road west of Brandon on a rainy Monday. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

Project Reset seeks balance in digital world

Several students from Brandon elementary schools are being recognized for their projects that drew attention to screen time, online safety and how an unbalanced use of all gadgets can have a negative impact on mental health and well-being.

The project was offered to all Grade 5 to 8 students within the Brandon School Division with the challenge to create a poster, a visually appealing chart or diagram, a song, a speech or a video to get the message across to their classmates about the importance of cutting down on using technology.

Amitoz Sidhu, Grade 8 student at Linden Lanes School, was the cameraman and editor of his team’s first-place video, which had five other classmates as actors.

“The story was about a very smart straight-A student,” said Sidhu. “His friends showed him a game and he never got off it, even when his friends wanted to hang out with him. He just cared about the game, got addicted and lost his friends.”

Air museum switching to summer hours

The Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum is switching to summer hours as of May 1.

This Wednesday, the museum will be open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This year, the museum is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Royal Canadian Air Force at its historic Second World War-era hangar.

The museum is dedicated to telling the story of the effort to train Commonwealth pilots at flight schools across the country during the war, featuring artifacts from the era including working vintage aircraft.