Candace Derksen

A pair of Manitobans are set to appear in Kenora bail court tomorrow, five days after they were arrested by Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) near Dryden. 
    
This includes Samantha McElroy, a 31-year-old woman from Morris, who has been charged with 9 offences for her role in a two-day crime spree that sent police on a regional manhunt.
    
38-year-old, Nathan Schroeder of Winnipeg, has been charged with 21 offences related to the incident.
    

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says his government's new public safety strategy is about crime prevention, holding people accountable, and ensuring police have the necessary resources.

Earlier this month, the Manitoba government unveiled the new Safer Neighbourhoods, Safer Downtowns Public Safety Strategy, which Justice Minister Matt Wiebe says will create a roadmap for a safer Manitoba across all regions

Included is a two per cent increase in funding for municipal law enforcement, providing stable and consistent funding for more boots on the ground.

The Town of Altona is taking further steps to prevent vandalism in frequently hit public spaces in the community.

Mayor Harv Schroeder says officials, in consultation with the Altona Police Service, have already installed CCTV cameras at the Centennial Park and Millenium Exhibition Centre. 

"We've noticed that they've helped already. They are doing what they were went to," he said. 

Municipality of Rhineland Council is asking the Province to take urgent action and make the intersection of PR201 and PTH306 safer.
    
The call comes after last weekend's fatal crash at the site that killed a 35-year-old mom and her 8-year-old daughter, from the Municipality.

Thousands of smiles were brought to the faces of Altona residents on Wednesday evening, thanks to a simple cookie. 
    
About 50 volunteers set out in blustery conditions to deliver a free Tim Horton's Holiday Smile Cookie to each resident in town, courtesy The Community Exhange (TCE) and a raft of sponsors.

A Canada-wide warrant has been issued for the semi-driver involved in last weekend's fatal crash south of Plum Coulee.
    
According to RCMP, officers have been unable to locate 25-year-old, Navjeet Singh.
    
On Wednesday, authorities charged the Brampton, Ontario man with two counts of Dangerous Operation of a Motor Vehicle Causing Death and Obstructing a Peace Officer related to the crash at the intersections of highways 201 and 306 that killed a 35-year-old mom and her 8-year-old daughter.
    

Those looking to advance their careers in early childhood education will soon be able to do so close to home. Assiniboine College has announced it will offer an accelerated Early Childhood Education (ECE) diploma program in Morden starting January 7th.

Old Man Winter appears to have made good time settling into Southern Manitoba
    
With heavy, wet snow layering our streets, some of you may be wondering what this means for your community's parking ban.
    
In Winkler, staff are clearing the main roads, however, a parking ban won't be implemented at this time.

In Morden, the parking ban has been in effect since Oct 1. Here is a statement from the City of Morden website:

Alert Ready, Canada's national public alerting system, will be put to the test today.
    
An emergency alert test message will be sent out over multiple communications channels, including your local Golden West station, at 1:55 p.m. 
    

Parents are being urged to educate their children on the use of 9-1-1 after Altona police were called out to Plum Coulee last week Wednesday.
    
In a news release, the department says officers responded to an unknown situation but after investigating, learned there was no emergency and that the 9-1-1 call had been made by children.
    
Police encourage teaching children about the importance of 9-1-1 and not to misuse the service, noting all 9-1-1 calls result in emergency services coming out.