PembinaValley

Funeral For:  Cornelius N. Driedger 
Funeral Date: Private 
Cornelius N. Driedger, 87, of Altona formerly of Blumenhof, passed away Tuesday, July 29th at Altona Memorial Health Centre. He is survived by his wife Elsie, 1 daughter, 2 sons, 1 sister, 1 brother, and their families. He was predeceased by 2 granddaughters, 2 sisters, and 4 brothers. 
A private funeral service for Cornelius N. Driedger will be held.  
Viewing will be at Wiebe Funeral Home, Altona Thursday, July 31st from 1 to 7pm. 
Donations may be made to Mennonite Disaster Service. 

Residents of two communities were preparing to head home Tuesday, while another community was being evacuated, as crews continued to battle wildfires across a large swath of the Prairies.

Some of the 2,400 residents of Tataskweyak Cree Nation in northern Manitoba started making their way back, two months after they were forced to leave by encroaching fire.

"It's very good news this week," Chief Doreen Spence said in a video posted to Facebook on Monday night.

Our communities continue to step up and do what they can to support Northern Manitoba wildfire relief efforts.

This summer, members of several of our local fire departments took to the streets during the many community festivals that took place - using the regular boot drive to raise funds for the Canadian Red Cross. 

Among them, the St. Jean Fire Department which partnered with two other services to help bring in about $4,000. 

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) brought its touring debt clock around the province, aiming to raise awareness about Manitoba’s growing provincial debt.

According to the CTF, the province’s debt has surpassed $35 billion and continues to increase.

"It's going up about $4,000 a minute, or $5.5 million a day," says Gage Haubrich, prairie director for the federation.

Development is on the rise in the RPGA Planning District.

In the first six months of the year, the organization issued 95 new building permits - that's an increase from 74 during the same period last year. 

"That's a fairly big jump and it's keeping me very busy," noted Lucie Maynard, General Manager. 

"Lumber prices have come down, and so have interest rates, so it's kind of driven the demand," she added.

It's been a special year for track and field star Lenaya Roberts, who was part of Team Manitoba that recently participated in a big event in Edmonton.

More than 500 children received toys last Christmas through Morden Christmas Cheer and that number is expected to rise again. As the cost-of-living climbs, the local non-profit is already gearing up to meet growing demand, with a little help from a beloved summer tradition.

“We had 384 hampers last season..and within those hampers, we got toys for 526 kids.”

- Chelsey Delaquis, board member with Morden Christmas Cheer.

“This is a huge day for us. We've been working on this for five years, and it started off as such a tiny — I'm not sure if a ‘dream’ is even the right word — almost like a joke, like, could we pull this off?” 

This is how Ang Braun, executive director of Genesis House, reacted to the latest step that the organization has taken toward making its transitional housing a reality. 

The Bank of Canada is expected to make an interest rate decision this morning.

Economists and financial markets widely expect the central bank will keep its policy rate steady at 2.75 per cent.

A surprisingly strong June jobs report and signs of stubbornness in core inflation convinced many economists the bank would remain on hold.

The Bank of Canada left its key rate unchanged at its two most recent decisions as it waits for more clarity on how Canada's tariff dispute with the United States will affect inflation and the economy.

British Columbians are being urged to stay away from coastal areas that remain under a tsunami advisory, after one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded triggered warnings and alerts around the Pacific.

The District of Tofino says beaches are closed, while the province's emergency information agency says people in areas covered by the advisory should stay away from shorelines, with strong waves and currents possible.