Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 20, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2025 B2 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM NEWS I CITY / PROVINCE LAND ● FROM B1 Ashes to ashes, dust to… thrift shop? MISSING a loved one’s ashes? A Manitoba woman might have found them at a Winkler thrift store. Hayley Bueckert-Dyck says she just wants to get the ashes back to their rightful owners after she picked up an urn at a thrift store Tuesday. She had hoped to use it for her recently deceased 19-year-old cat, but was shocked to find it was full. “I’ve found a lot of interesting things in thrift stores, but this is def- initely the most interesting one,” she said Wednesday. She took the urn to Wiebe Funeral Home — which serves Morden, Wink- ler and the surrounding area — where staff confirmed it was an urn sold there, but they weren’t able to identify the owner. The urn has no identifying information and she is worried that if she returns it to the thrift store, the ashes will be discarded, so she’s keep- ing it until an owner is found. She declined to name the thrift store out of concern it will face condemna- tion for having sold the urn. She said she visits regularly and believes the urn was donated quite recently. “For all I know, this person might have just dropped this thing off this past weekend,” she said. “Maybe they haven’t had enough time to realize that it’s missing yet. I’m hopeful that someone will come forward. I’m hope- ful that someone will realize that it’s missing.” She plans to keep the urn for a while but absent a claim, she has thought about scattering the ashes in the Pem- bina Valley. “If nobody comes forward, I feel like the best thing to do is to lay them somewhere where they won’t be dis- turbed, and they won’t be sitting in the house of some random person,” she said. If you think the urn may be yours, contact Wiebe Funeral Home at 204- 325-4201. malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca Woman shocked to discover urn purchased for cat’s remains wasn’t empty MALAK ABAS Manitoba Education is in the early stages of developing a cur- riculum framework for Indigenous land-based learning. The project — which a government spokes- person said will promote learning from the land rather than simply education in an outdoor setting — will expand on hyperlocal projects in Seven Oaks and surrounding communities. During a public board meeting on Tuesday, LRSD trustees unani- mously approved two motions to lay the foundation for an outdoor education hub in south Winnipeg. Chief financial officer Jamie Rudnicki told the meeting that div- ision leaders have been searching for a solution to address an over- crowded transportation facility dubbed “Maginot Shops” for the better part of the last decade. Rudnicki is proposing LRSD relocate its school bus fleet at 901 Maginot St. and overflow sites, as well as the existing maintenance and operations department based out of 50 Monterey Rd. The multi-pronged blueprint involves purchasing and trans- forming a new property, upgrading the Monterey Road campus to bol- ster clinical and therapeutic servi- ces for students and installing an elevator inside LRSD’s main board office on St. Mary’s Road. Ryan Palmquist, who represents families in Ward 3 (South St. Vital and River Park South), told meet- ing attendees it was “an excellent opportunity” and he is hopeful the project will move forward. maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca MATT GOERZEN / THE BRANDON SUN FILES The southwestern Manitoba health authority had damage to the Brandon Regional Health Centre repaired, and had the issues examined by a plumber and forensic engineer. Leaks from kiosk alleged to have caused mould in dialysis unit Health authority sues Tim Hortons P RAIRIE Mountain Health is suing Tim Hortons, alleging the fast- food chain’s kiosk at Brandon Regional Health Centre is responsible for flooding in a wall that caused mould in a dialysis unit. The health authority for south- western Manitoba, including Brandon and Dauphin, filed the lawsuit on Feb. 6 in the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench against the TDL Group Corp., the par- ent company of Tim Hortons. The lawsuit alleges the kiosk is re- sponsible for the leak and failed to up- hold its end of a lease agreement, in- cluding keeping the premises in good condition and repair, and failing to address the leak, resulting in “signifi- cant” costs. “The plaintiffs state that TDL was negligent and breached the lease agree- ment,” court records said, further al- leging the parent company failed to monitor and inspect the leak, failed to warn Prairie Mountain of the leak and did not take reasonable steps to miti- gate the damage it was causing. “As a result … the plaintiffs have in- curred and will continue to incur sig- nificant costs,” the lawsuit said. No statement of defence has been filed, and the matter has not been ad- judicated in court. Prairie Mountain Health declined to comment Wednesday because the mat- ter is before the courts. Tim Hortons, which has had the lo- cation at the city’s hospital for two dec- ades, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The lawsuit says the damage was uncovered by a maintenance manager employed by the health authority last April when water was discovered in the basement, directly below the facility’s dialysis unit. TDL was notified about the leak, the lawsuit alleges. An investigation into the water source revealed mould on the west wall of the dialysis unit, one it shares with the kiosk. Further inspections also found water damage and mould to the south wall of a boardroom at the hospital, which also borders the coffee shop. It’s unclear if the dialysis unit had to be shut down for any length of time, and a spokesperson for Prairie Moun- tain wouldn’t comment. The health authority hired a con- tractor last May to repair the damage to both rooms. The contractor retained a plumber, who confirmed last July the water had originated from the coffee shop and found several other issues, including leaks from a hub into which multiple drain lines fed, a drain line to an ice maker with leaks that was also smaller than the required size, a sink and under a small ice-maker. A forensic engineer was brought in last October with permission from TDL to access and examine the kiosk. The engineer was tasked to find the cause of the water damage and found that the floor of the kiosk, while water- proof, had pulled away from the wall. “The engineer concluded that the most probable cause of the observed water damage was prolonged exposure to water leaking from multiple loca- tions in the Tim Hortons kitchen and serving area,” the lawsuit says. It also adds that the engineer believed the leaking had occurred over time due to “improper installation or mainten- ance” of several pieces of equipment. The health authority wants to recoup the costs of the repairs, which have not been disclosed. scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca SCOTT BILLECK IN BRIEF PRISON GUARDS INTERCEPT DRUGS PRISON guards caught an inmate trying to smuggle THC and crystal methampheta- mine into Stony Mountain Institution on Monday, corrections officials said. A news release said the meth and THC, which is the main psychoactive ingredient of cannabis, would be worth an estimated $55,750 inside the federal prison. It was intercepted in the medium-secur- ity unit, the release said. TWO ARRESTED AFTER HOME INVASIONS POLICE have arrested two men and are seeking a third person after two home invasions in Birdtail Sioux First Nation. Three men were assaulted in the incidents on Feb. 13. A family member of the community’s chief, Lindsay Bunn Jr., told the Brandon Sun last week that Bunn Jr. was among the victims and was hospitalized. A 34-year-old man was arrested at one of the scenes and charged with three counts of assault causing bodily harm and two counts of break and enter with intent. A 23-year-old man was arrested later and charged with one count each of the same offences. The older man was remanded into cus- tody, while the younger man was released pending a future court appearance. A warrant has been issued for a third, unnamed person involved in the attacks, the Manitoba First Nations Police Service said in a news release Wednesday. The MFNPS asked anyone with information about the home invasions to call its Bird- tail Sioux detachment at 204-569-4621 or the anonymous tip line at 1-833-978- 0048. JAIL TIME FOR POSTING SEX VIDEO BRANDON — A Brandon man who uploaded pornography of his ex-fiancée to a website without her consent has been sentenced to nine months in jail. The 36-year-old was found guilty in a Brandon courtroom by provincial court Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta last year and was sentenced Feb. 13. In addition to the sentence, which includes two years of probation, the man must register on the sex-offender registry for 20 years. A court-imposed publication ban intended to protect the identity of the vic- tim prohibits the man from being named. The victim testified during the trial she learned that intimate videos of her and her former partner had been posted on Pornhub when she was sent a link by the accused in August 2020. She testified she had consented to filming the videos but did not consent to them being posted online. The man pleaded not guilty, and his lawyer argued the accused had uploaded the video for safekeeping and personal storage. “Uploading imagery to a website that aims to facilitate users sharing porno- graphic videos for safekeeping and per- sonal use only stretches the imagination,” Hewitt-Michta said in April. MAN SUSPECTED IN SEVERAL BREAK-INS POLICE say a young Dauphin man is believed to be responsible for at least five break-ins in that city. RCMP were sent to the site of the latest burglary, on 3rd Avenue Southwest, at about 3:15 a.m. Monday. Officers were told some- one had entered the home and stolen money before being scared off. Two occupants were in the home at the time. An 18-year-old man was arrested that morning. “Through their investigation, officers believe the same suspect is responsible for at least five break and enters in the south end of Dauphin, possibly more,” police said in a news release Wednesday. Police released an image of the suspect. RCMP asked anyone who has video, images or information relevant to the break-ins to call its Dauphin detachment at 204-622-5020 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS). — staff/Brandon Sun Allow youth to continue celebrating diversity and promote cultural understanding while preserving intangible heritage for generations to come. Be part of Folklorama's Future! Folklorama.ca ;