News for November 26th

BRANDON AND SHILO WALK TO AFGHANISTAN
Fiona Jeffries appeared before City Council to request support for the Brandon and Shilo Walk to Afghanistan. She invited members of Council and the general public to log their physical activity with the intent of walking the distance from Brandon to Afghanistan which was approximately 13,000 km. Ms. Jeffries invited members of City Council to attend the launch of the walk on January 25, 2008 and encouraged everyone to wear red on that day as a show of support for the troops. She also advised that further information was available at walktoafghanistan@gmail.com, or by calling 765-3000, ext. 3867 or 3868.

SUPPORT FOR MILITARY LOUNGE - HONOURARY COLONEL BETTY COLEMAN
Honourary Colonel Betty Coleman appeared before City Council to request support for the establishment of a military lounge at the Winnipeg International Airport. She stated that over 40,000 military personnel travelled through Canadian airports to training centres to prepare for deployment to Afghanistan and that the Royal Military Institute of Manitoba was establishing a military lounge for all regular military and reservists who travelled through the Winnipeg International Airport, noting this would be the first such lounge established in Canada.

Honorary Colonel Coleman requested an annual financial contribution by the City of Brandon to towards the operation of the lounge, noting that the Provincial Government had committed $15,000.00 to the project.

COMPSTAT POLICING MODEL - BRANDON POLICE SERVICE
Chief of Police K. Atkinson appeared before City Council and with the use of a power-point presentation, provided information on the proposed CompStat policing model. He explained that this model utilized a simple database to map locations of crimes, traffic collisions and hotspots in the City which was then used to identify trends and develop strategies and enforcement programs to reduce crime rates. Chief Atkinson advised that the new system did require some organizational changes and would be implemented on January 1st, 2008.

New Deputy Mayor and Acting Deputy Mayor Appointments
Councillor Don Jessiman was appointed Deputy Mayor to perform all duties of the Mayor, if the Mayor is absent from the municipality, or is incapable, through illness or other cause, of performing his duties as Head of Council with term of office to expire on November 16, 2008.

Councillor Jeff Harwood was appointed Acting Deputy Mayor to perform all duties of the Mayor, if both the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor are absent from the municipality, or are incapable, through illness or other cause, of performing their respective duties as Head or Deputy Head of Council with term of office to expire on November 16, 2008.

Update from the Mayor
Chief Atkinson and I attended the throne speech in Winnipeg on Tuesday, Nov 20th. It was encouraging to see Brandon acknowledged frequently with positive announcements.

Renaissance Brandon held a planning session on Wednesday, Nov 21st, where the committee finalized future strategies and organizational structures. We welcomed Gerald Cathcart, who has been recently employed by the City of Brandon in the capacity of Business Development Specialist with Economic Development.

Update from the City Manager
Grant McMillan and I met with the Executive of the Chamber of Commerce this week to present information on the budget. We answered a number of questions pertaining to debt costs associated with major public expenditures, public private partnerships, and contracting out. The Chamber raised the issue of how they could work together with the City. Overall we felt it was a positive discussion.

Attendance at B.E.S.T. Conference
The City Clerk and Deputy City Clerk attended the Brandon Emergency Support Team (B.E.S.T.) Conference at the Keystone Centre on November 21, 2007. Topics of interest included Active Threat Response, Networking for Response Preparedness, Designing Your Next Exercise, Canexus Presentation, Tadoule Lake Evacuation, Building a Canadian Standard and the Elie tornado.

Assessment Appeals
The Board of Revision recently dealt with appeals from the 2007 Supplementary Tax Statements and the 2008 Assessment Roll. The land or building assessment for eight properties and whether or not some or part of these properties were liable to taxation resulted in a total affected assessment of $16,284,600 being changed through value reductions or exemptions by $1,687,500 to that of $14,587,100.

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
Testing of the 911 backup site was conducted this week. Regular testing is done to ensure that the site is operational for when the location may be required.

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
The Brandon Emergency Support Team once again hosted a successful conference - Emergency Preparedness for Everyone. The event was developed by a committee of B.E.S.T. members some of who were speakers, master of ceremonies, and event support. Several City employees also provided valuable support and presentations. The highlight of the conference was a presentation by Monique Carriere and Judy Wright who reviewed the City of Brandon's management of the Tadoule Lake forest fire evacuation. More than 120 people attended the conference and by all accounts it was worthwhile enough to warrant planning for our 4th conference to be held next November.

Construction
- Work in the 700 block of Franklin Street for Habitat for Humanity will be finished this week.
- Landscaping – all of the sodding is done for this year. Continuing in our efforts to plant 100 trees and do some seeding.

WATER/WASTEWATER
Due to a world-wide shortage of fluoride, our Water Treatment Facility anticipates that it will exhaust its supply. We have been in close communication with our suppliers over the year and have their assurance that we will be receiving the product as soon as it is made available. It is expected that the addition of the fluoride will terminate within the next week and the date of resumption will be within a month. It is important that customers understand that the water is still safe and that this should not result in an adverse oral health influence in a community, as tooth decay develops slowly over time. Manitoba Office of Drinking Water has been notified of our situation and although shortages have become more general throughout the water industry, additional measures to alleviate this concern continue to be reviewed.

Fire Update
The Manitoba Government announced this week that they will be funding Brandon Fire and Emergency Services for four additional firefighters. These firefighters will be placed in our suppression division.

Deputy Bell was master of ceremonies at the annual BEST (Brandon Emergency Support Team) conference on Wednesday, November 21st.

Training Officer Ferguson participated as an observer in the simulated and hydrous ammonia leak exercise at Westco Fertilizer on Wednesday, November 21st.

SPORTSPLEX
A total of 17 “Active Living Facilitators” were certified by Manitoba Fitness, Council Course Facilitator, Russell Thornesby, in two separate courses in the past month at Brandon’s Community Sportsplex. This course was offered free of charge to the participants due to grant money from In Motion. The focus of the course was to increase people’s physical activity and awareness of the importance of physical activity. These facilitators go on to volunteer 10 hours of their time implementing and leading a physical activity in their community.

Neighbourhood Meeting
As part of the commitment outlined in the Recreation Facility Master Plan, there will be a neighbourhood meeting to present & discuss the design concept for Hub #1 (3rd & Aberdeen). The meeting will take place on Thursday, November 29th, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. at Crocus Plains High School, Room #102. Everyone is welcome. For more information, please contact Rick Bailey at 729-2170 or Esther Bryan at 729-2276.

International Day of Disabled Person – December 3rd
What does it mean to be disabled and how does it shape an artist’s work? SHAMELESS: the ART of Disability. This documentary film explores what is known as the disability art movement, following five artists – including a painter, a writer, an actor, a theater director, and a filmmaker, all of whom happen to have physical disabilities – through their creative work. Dispelling the myth of tragic disability, the film depicts its subjects as, first and foremost, creative people. Packed with humour and raw energy, SHAMELESS: THE ART of Disability is a revelation of a film. Co-hosted by Know United Church and the City of Brandon on Monday, December 3rd, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. at the Knox United Church. Everyone is welcome. Admission is free. For more information contact Esther Bryan at 729-2276.

Christmas Lights
There have been enquiries on the lack of City Christmas lights along the parade route this past weekend. There were some complications with the LED lights that had been provided to municipalities through Manitoba Hydro a few years ago. There were numerous malfunctions and Manitoba Hydro had to do a recall and send out replacements. The recall impacted our schedule to have the lights in place for the Santa Claus Parade as we just recently received the replacements last week and staff are now busy re-stringing the displays. Displays are now being set up and we should have this completed for December 1st. Although this was unfortunate, we will be coordinating our schedule with the parade schedule next year.

New Business Development Specialist
Gerald Cathcart has joined the Economic Development Brandon office as Business Development Specialist. Cathcart will be responsible for the establishment and implementation of an action plan that facilitates proactive attraction of new industry, and assists existing businesses to expand. In addition, Gerald will assist Renaissance Brandon with developing a strategic direction and operating model for the organization.

News for November 20th

Update from the Mayor
Brian MacRae and I met with the Deputy Minister of Justice and other officials on November 15th to discuss the background and process regarding individuals serving intermittent sentences. This meeting was very productive and addressed the issue in a transparent fashion. I appreciated the approach taken by the Justice Department, and I am confident that Council will be receiving more information regarding this matter in the near future.

YMCA additional funding
On Thursday, November 15th Cathy Snelgrove and Brian Macrae (City Manager), together with representatives from the YMCA, met with Provincial Officials to discuss the proposed Y - City of Brandon Recreation facility. The Provincial Officials included representatives from the Community and Economic Development Committee of Cabinet, as well as the Canada - Manitoba Infrastructure Secretariat. The joint facility concept was positively received and we were encouraged to submit an application for funding through the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund and/or the Building Canada Funding Program if the project Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was endorsed by both City Council and the YMCA Board of Directors. As Council is aware, this matter will be before Council on Monday, November 19th. Naturally, no commitments of any kind were made but the meeting was a positive first step in the process.

Water and Wastewater
The Water Treatment Chemical Supply Tender opening will be held this week. In addition to the AWWA specifications, we have also requested NSF/ANSI Standard 60 in the tender documents for water treatment chemical supplies. NSF/ANSI Standard 60: Drinking Water Treatment Chemicals -- Health Effects is the nationally recognized health effects standard for chemicals which are used to treat drinking water. The NSF Water Treatment and Distribution Systems Program is responsible for the Certification of drinking water treatment chemicals and drinking water system components to ensure that these products do not contribute contaminants to drinking water that could cause adverse health effects.

LIGHTHOUSES AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM
This week will mark the beginning of the annual Lighthouses After School Program for elementary year students. To date three schools are participating which include Valleyview, Betty Gibson and George Fitton. The program is funded by the Department of Justice and provides youth a positive environment to get involved in pro-social, recreational and crime prevention activities. Two Activity Leaders are hired for each site to provide supervision, quality instruction, interact with the youth and act as role models. It is a program where one day a week, students attending Grades 3-6 can stay after school, be physically active in the gym and interact with their peers. We are actively seeking additional Activity Leaders to be able to offer this program in more schools.

Transit
The newly expanded Handi-Transit Advisory Committee held their first meeting earlier this week. New to the committee are representatives from Brandon RHA - Mental Health Services and the Long Term Care, Brandon Community Connections, Career Connections, COR Enterprises and Society for Manitobans with Disabilities. Other agencies expressing interest to be involved with the committee include Camelot Gardens and Family Visions, but representatives were unable to attend, Main topics for the committee include policy development and operations review; and revamping the application process and forms for Handi-Transit. The Committee recently approved their committee charter which outlines the purpose of the Advisory group and specifies their authority and responsibilities. A copy of this charter along with regular meeting minutes can be found online at brandontransit.ca.

Snow Route Parking Restrictions
Snow Route parking restrictions will come into effect as of November 15, 2007. In an effort to minimize the effects of the parking ban on area residents and business owners the following change will be adopted:
- Vehicles will be allowed to park on a snow route, without penalty, provided they meet all other requirements under the Traffic Bylaw, provided there has been no snowfall that would initiate plowing and snow removal.
- In the event that a snowfall does occur and city crews initiate our snow plowing/removal program, the Snow Route parking restrictions will come into effect and bylaw enforcement will take place. A notice will be sent through the media to inform residents that city crews will be out plowing and removing snow. Notification will go out immediately after a snowfall has been identified.

Enquiries relating to the Snow Route parking restrictions can be made at the Civic Services Complex @ 729-2285.

Interview and Interrogation Course
The Brandon Police Service hosted an Interview and Interrogation Course at the Training Centre from November 12th to 16th, 2007. Thirteen Brandon Police Service Members attended and one from Rivers PD. The instructor, Neil Barker, is a retired Winnipeg Police Service Member who is a renowned instructor/presenter in this area and has instructed at the Canadian Police College in Ottawa. Over the 5 days of the course candidates will be exposed to various Forensic Interviewing topics of discussion including;
- Deception Detection;
- Statement Analysis; and
- Interview & Interrogation Techniques.

Westman Reptile Garden
From a small home based business to the bright lights of Hollywood – Dave Shelvey of Westman Reptile Gardens proves anything is possible. Please click on the following link to read an article about our own Westman Reptile Gardens Westman Reptile Gardens

Closure or Conveyance of Manitoba Hydro Coal Plant in Brandon
In response to Councillor Black’s inquiry about the long term plans for the Manitoba Hydro Coal Plant I have inquired with Mr. Bob Brennan, President and CEO of Manitoba Hydro. According to Mr. Brennan, Manitoba Hydro has an operating licence that is in effect until the year 2021. Manitoba Hydro is currently reviewing their operations of the coal plant and would like to keep it in operation in some manner or another. The main focus of the plant is so that it can be used in case of an emergency to provide power to the western part of Manitoba due to low water levels or transmission problems out of the north.

Mr. Brennan has informed me that producing electricity from the plant is currently economically feasible but that Manitoba Hydro is well aware and concerned with the amount of Green House Gases it produces from the plant. Their review is looking for ways to continue to operate and reduce the Green House Gases.

Fleming Property for a Firehall
At the November 19th City Council meeting Councillor Black sought clarification with respect to the status of the property commonly known as the Fleming School Site. Mayor Burgess correctly advised that the site is not currently available and is not likely to be available for some time. In that regard, the following additional information relative to the status of the lands and the process to determine ultimate availability is provided for your information.

As City Council is aware, our office is currently negotiating a land exchange for property located at the former Fleming School Site located on Victoria Avenue between 23rd Street and 25th Street. Currently the land on the Fleming School Site is in the name of the Brandon School Division (BSD), with an agreement in place which stipulates that should the BSD dispose of the Fleming School property, the City would be entitled to receive the property back which was originally sold to the BSD for the sum of $1.00.

While negotiations are moving forward and seem to be close to completion, the City has agreed that until this property is sold by the BSD, the City will not pursue future development of this site. This was a condition of the BSD in the event that another community based group or education facility wished to purchase this site and required the additional property to operate under the same conditions as the former Fleming School. Should another education group come forward and purchase the BSD property and require the City property to operate, the City would then work with the new owner to ensure that the Educational / Institutional zone is maintained as originally planned.

Unfortunately a specific time line is difficult to determine as we are reliant on factors outside our control. Such factors include, but are not limited to the following;
- The Agreement between the City and the BSD, should be resolved before year end;
- The Disposal process by the BSD will take four months to advertise and then a successful bid is determined at that time. The high bid does not necessarily get this property as the Public Schools Finance Board (PSFB) guidelines for the disposal of school property stipulates that a community based group may be given preference over a high bid in the interest of the community as well as the intended purpose of the land as it currently exists as an educational facility.
- The PSFB will be required to review this process to ensure all guidelines have been followed and a recommendation given to the BSD. This could take an additional few months for review.

To the best of our knowledge, the process as described above could take anywhere from 8 months to a year for completion, at which time the successful bidder and their requirements of the land may dictate that they require all the property to maintain an educational/institutional facility and the City would be required to cooperate with the new owner based on the existing agreement with the BSD. Until the disposal process is completed by the BSD, there is no guarantee the City will have the option to place a Fire and Emergency Services facility at this location. The City could very well wait upwards of a year, only to find out that this site will remain as it currently exists, with future development not being an option for this property at this time.

News for November 12th

Litter Clean up in Public Areas
In response to Councillor Paterson’s enquiry regarding litter clean up in public areas and who is responsible for the clean up, the Operational Services Division has been reviewing this issue over the last couple of months to identify a potential improved solution to the issue.

The cleanup of litter does not fall within one specific section of the division. The Parks Department controls the parks and green space, while Sanitation supports the litter collection along pathways and in the downtown and Community Services oversees the volunteers who cleanup our City as part of the Brandon in Bloom Program. By splitting up the responsibility, this encourages litter collection to be an ongoing activity that can be handled as a portion of the normal work of the section.

We have found an increase in the amount of litter that collects in some areas due to their vicinity to retail and food sector businesses. While many of these businesses provide garbage containers at their locations, in a lot of cases the garbage is thrown in the parking lots and is blown into some of the common collection areas in the community such as Riverbank, the fence along the Keystone, etc.

The amount of time and manpower required to keeps these areas clean can be substantial, so we have investigated the options that other large communities are using to combat this issue. We have decided to trial a machine called a “Garbage Sucker” in the upcoming year, that is mounted to a vehicle and which allows someone to cleanup an area quickly and with this equipment, frequently. The sections will continue to apply the regular means of litter collection but we believe that trialing this alternate solution, we will be able to enhance the collection capability.

Update from the Mayor
I attended the 10th anniversary of the Business Council of Manitoba at the Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg the evening of November 7. Amongst other dignitaries attending was Mr. Paul Martin, former Prime Minister of Canada.

Special Commemorative Issue of Manitoba History Magazine
A special issue of Manitoba History magazine commemorating the 125th anniversary of the City of Brandon, prepared by the Manitoba Historical Society, will be launched at a ceremony in Brandon. The launch will take place on Tuesday, November 13th, 2007 from 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. at the John E. Robbins Library, Brandon University. This special issue was compiled by guest editor Tom Mitchell, an archivist and historian at Brandon University, and Dr. Gordon Goldsborough, Past President of the Manitoba Historical Society, and features numerous articles by local authors including Councillor Errol Black.

Emergency Prepareness
Two Brandon Police Service employees attended the Manitoba Emergency Management course being hosted by Manitoba Hydro in Brandon this week. In addition, several City employees along with a Brandon Regional Health Authority employee, took part in the exercise portion of this course. The scenario involved a total black-out due to an ice storm. Major issues encountered were fueling emergency generators, communicating within the response organizations and with the public, and supplying potable water for both human consumption and use in boilers for heating systems.

Traffic Section
Please be advised that our office will be completing a number of traffic counts over the next few weeks to better understand traffic issues and pedestrian issues at various intersections within the City. The following intersections are scheduled for review;
1. Van Horne Avenue and 39th Street (traffic concerns)
2. College Avenue and 13th Street (traffic & pedestrian concerns)
3. Van Horne Avenue and 13th Street (traffic & pedestrian concerns)
4. Kirkcaldy Drive and Knowlton Drive (traffic concerns)
5. Richmond Avenue and Linden Boulevard (traffic & pedestrian concerns)

Once these traffic counts are completed, our office will begin to summarize the information and provide responses to Councillors as these intersections pertain to their ward.

Construction
- Currently installing sewer & water (22 services) to the 700 block of Franklin Street for Habitat for Humanity. Expect to be completed by the end of next week (Nov. 16th).
- Landscapers will be back in Brandon on Thursday and will be starting at Lorne Ave. between Park and Franklin. From there they will go to the BU/Princess Ave., then to the 1500 block of 10th Street.

Update from the Fire Department
Brandon Fire and Emergency Services sent nine members to a week long training course at Manitoba Emergency Services College for Confined Space and High Angle Training.

Chief Dane attended two ward meetings to answer questions to constituents regarding a new fire hall. The meetings were for the Riverview and South Center wards.

We hosted two grade nine students for “Take your kids to work day” on November 7th. They got an inside look at a day in the life of a firefighter/paramedic.

Handi Advisory Committee newsletter
The 4th issue of the Handi Advisory Committee newsletter is now on line at brandontransit.ca and has been mailed out to all current Handi-Transit clients and related agencies within Brandon. If you would like a printed copy of the newsletter, please let us know. Some facts for 2007 (inclusive to September 30th) related to Handi-Transit that you may find interesting:
- 16,697 trips were provided on Handi-Transit, an average of 1,885 per month
- 11,254 of the total number of trips were provided between 7:00am & 5:00pm, Monday to Friday - that's 67%!
- 12,095 of the total trips were in a mobility device of some kind (wheelchair, scooter or the like), which is 72%, the remaining 28% - 4,602 were walk on trips
- Our Handi buses provided 14,221 of the 16,697 trips, which is 85% of the total number of trips, leaving 2,476 trips for our contractor to provide.

Canada World Youth
Community Services will have two participants of the Canada World Youth program at their work site for the next few months. With CWY, groups of 18 young people from different cultures live with host families and work together on volunteer projects for a total of six months – three in a Canadian community and three in a community in one of our partner countries. Brandon is pleased to be one of the Canadian communities in which the participants will stay. Nine families from Brandon and area will host two participants each with the participants volunteering at 11 different businesses across Brandon. The two participants (one from Canada and one from Honduras) will be working on an age-appropriate Power Point presentation for Human Rights Day that will be held on December 10th, 2007.

Brandon Skate Plaza
A sign has been installed at the future site of the Brandon Skate Plaza located at the corner of 9th Street & Princess Avenue. The sign was donated by Richmond Signs and installed by members of the City of Brandon Building Maintenance staff. The sign brings attention to the future home of the Brandon Skate Plaza and will increase awareness of the project. For any questions about the Brandon Skate Plaza, please call 729-2257.

Lieutenant Governor's Winter Festival
Groups interested in participating in the 5th Annual Lieutenant Governor's Winter Festival are reminded of the deadline of November 13th to make their intentions known to the committee. If there are any groups interested in participating in the festival, to be held on January 31st to February 2nd, 2008, please have them contact Tom Keep at 729-2171 or by email at t.keep@brandon.ca

SPORTSPLEX
Quotation for the Sportsplex mechanical upgrades for the Direct Digital Control system is now closed, and we hope to award this contract and have the work started this month.

School In-Service Swim is Friday, November 16th and will feature an “Hawaii Day” theme.

Workplace Safety and Health Manitoba Inspector was onsite at the Sportsplex on Tuesday, November 6th, 2007. She was in Brandon doing inspections of all public and hotel pools in the City. They are taking a pro-active approach to preventing any chlorine accidents from happening. Inspections of this nature are being done throughout the province. The inspector was impressed with work we have done regarding workplace safety. There are a few areas we will need to correct and Workplace Safety and Health Manitoba will be returning next to review the improvement order with the Sportsplex staff next month. We will then have 3 months to do the necessary training with our staff.

RECREATION
Work continues at the Recreation Centre Golf Course with improvements to the existing drainage system. We are very optimistic that these drainage improvements will allow staff to deal with spring flooding and heavy rainfalls more effectively. Additional improvements are planned in 2008 through the capital plan for this facility.

Parks staff are in the process of setting up the winter lights displays at the skating oval. The public can look forward to additional displays and a small concession that will provide coffee and snacks.

The paddle pool and building is being removed at Meadows Playground. This facility is no longer in operation due to the deterioration of the pool and low usage. This is all part of the Recreation Master Plan recommendations.

STREETS & ROADS - Winter Related Changes
Each winter we experience numerous snow-related Bylaw infractions with regards to property owners removing the snow on their property and piling it on the sidewalk, boulevard or the street. This practice can create potential hazardous situations as sitelines become obstructed, resulting in possible increases in accidents. This is very noticeable on business properties that have the snow cleared off their parking lots and pile the snow on public property as opposed to hauling the snow away. There are some areas throughout our community where these piles of snow also contribute to drainage issues during spring thaw. As a reminder to business/property owners, a notice will be published in the local newspaper. Staff will approach some property owners where there have been concerns with this practice in the past and to inform these property owners of the seriousness of piling snow on these areas. Bylaw Enforcement will be monitoring and providing enforcement for snow-related infractions as per the traffic Bylaw No. 5463/16/87 during the upcoming winter months.

News for November 5th

Update from the Mayor
The City of Brandon was presented with the bell from the HMCS Brandon between the first and second periods at Friday’s Wheat King game. I had the privilege of accepting this on behalf of the City from LCdr Grant Bannister. The bell will be displayed in city hall for all the residents to view.

Heritage Matters – A New Community Heritage Development Initiative
The Provincial Minister of Culture, Heritage, Tourism and Sport has recently announced the launch of Heritage Matters, a new community heritage development initiative. Heritage Matters provides a series of benchmarks presented in a self-assessment worksheet. This measurement tool will help communities gauge their local strengths and weaknesses and set priorities to enhance or sustain the benefits heritage provides to those communities.

Communities that complete the Heritage Matters benchmark worksheet can then apply for matching funding support of up to $5,000 in matching funds for projects that help identify, protect or plan for the conservation of historic places. Eligible projects could include such things as creating a heritage inventory, developing a community heritage management plan, site conservation and designation, and use/re-use feasibility studies.

The Brandon Municipal Heritage Committee will be reviewing material provided by the Historic Resources Department to complete the benchmark worksheet and identify specific projects that would be eligible for financial support under this initiative.

18th Street North and Cumberland Avenue
Our office recently contacted the local branch of Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation (MIT) with regards to the intersection improvements at 18th Street North and Cumberland Avenue.

As Council is aware, this intersection has undergone some changes lately with center medians being constructed to allow for designated left turn lanes, through lanes and right turn lanes, with the addition of traffic signals being installed for this intersection.

The geometric improvements have largely been completed for this intersection, including the road markings for lane assignments as indicated above. As for when the signals will become operational, MIT is trying for 2 weeks, as this initial operation must be overseen by the Traffic Signal Engineering Division of MIT from Winnipeg. For various safety reasons associated with the initial phase of traffic signals, MIT will not rush this issue until all the operational factors have been reviewed. Motorists will notice the signals flashing in a warning mode prior to the implementation of the signals becoming fully operational.

MIT has also budgeted for an asphalt overlay for 18th Street North from Braecrest Drive to the Trans-Canada Highway. This project is scheduled to be completed in 2008 and pertains not only to improvements at Cumberland Avenue, but also from the pavement condition review undertaken in the Brandon Area Road Network Development Plan recently presented to City Council on October 20th, 2007.

Our office will keep Council informed of any additional changes that may pertain to this area of 18th Street North and Cumberland Ave.

Handi Transit Advisory Committee
The Handi Transit Advisory Committee is currently developing a committee charter that will help provide purpose and focus for the group. The Handi Committee is currently recruiting additional members targeting related agencies that have direct relations with Handi-Transit services. The committee is beginning the process of reviewing and developing new policies & procedures, application form, information package and brochure. Having the agency representatives at the table as part of the committee will help guide us as to how the proposed changes impact their operations.

Blue Fins Halloween Meet
The Brandon Blue Fins Swim Club held their Halloween Meet at the Sportsplex October 27th & 28th. A total of 207 swimmers were competing in the Meet.

Immigration Report
The province has published the 2006 immigration report and Brandon placed as the fourth highest destination, with 130 immigrants destined for Brandon in 2006.

The high number of temporary foreign workers who have received landed immigrant status in the past year is reflected in the June 2007, YTD preliminary statistics released by Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program. During the first six months of 2007, Brandon recorded 337 immigrants destined for Brandon.

Change in hours at Landfill Site
Just a reminder the hours at the Eastview Landfill Site will change November 1, 2007 as follows:
Winter Hours: November 1, 2007 to March 30, 2008
Monday to Friday 8:00 am to 5:45 pm
Saturday 8:00 am to 4:45 pm
Sundays and Stats CLOSED

Eco Centre Hours: Monday to Saturday
9:00 am to noon & 1:00 to 4:00 pm

Active Living Facilitator Course
The first portion of Active Living Facilitator Course began on October 20th and ends on November 1st. There are 9 participants in this first class which is free courtesy of “Manitoba In Motion”. The purpose is to provide motivation, education and a safe active living program based on Physical Activity Guide, for a group setting. Once recognized an Active Living Facilitator is sanctioned by the MFC to guide active living activities in the following areas: Indoors or Outdoors; Walking; Basic Stretching and Range of Motion; Activities of Daily Living; Basic Body Weight Stretching. After successful course completion, you will be required to volunteer a minimum of 10 hours of your time implementing and leading an activity in your community with the assistance of Sportsplex staff. There is still room in the one day course offered on November 10th. Register by calling 729-2471.

Monster Mash - Police Update
The Monster Mash was held on Wednesday, October 31st, 2007 at the Westman Communications Place. Approximately 800 teens attended enjoying music, food and prizes. Thank you to all the sponsors and volunteers that worked so hard to make this event so successful.

KEY OVERPASS ON TRANS-CANADA HIGHWAY AT PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE OPENED LAST WEEK
A new overpass near Portage la Prairie on the Trans-Canada Highway opened last week, improving safety and convenience for road and rail traffic, Infrastructure and Transportation Minister Ron Lemieux has announced. The overpass was redesigned and a number of improvements were made to it including increasing the structure's height over the CN rail line, raising overhead clearances on the westbound traffic lanes and repaving the east and westbound approaches.

The original structure, built in 1967, was closed in October 2006 after it was determined it required significant repairs. In addition to building the new overpass, other local upgrades included work on Angle Road, which served as a detour route through Portage la Prairie, and improvements to Saskatchewan Avenue, in Portage la Prairie, which was used to help handle the additional traffic.

Manitobans Encouraged To Get the Shot, Not the Flu
The province's 2007 influenza immunization campaign encouraging Manitobans to Get the Shot, Not the Flu was officially launched today by Healthy Living Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross.

"Influenza is contagious and can be a very serious illness for people at risk including seniors, children between six and 23 months of age and people with chronic illnesses," said Irvin-Ross.  "Getting a flu shot every year reduces your chance of getting influenza, protects people who are more vulnerable to influenza illness and also protects health-care providers, caregivers and their loved ones."

Flu shots are now available without charge for eligible Manitobans, specifically:
- Manitobans age 65 or older and their household contacts,
- individuals of any age with a chronic illness and their household contacts,
- those who live in personal-care homes or other chronic-care facilities,
- healthy children aged six to 23 months and their household contacts,
- all pregnant women and their household contacts,
- health-care workers, and
- first responders such as police officers, firefighters and ambulance workers.

Réal Cloutier, vice-president of long-term care for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, noted the importance of health-care workers getting their shots.

"Health-care professionals work with the people most vulnerable to this illness," said Cloutier.  "In order to protect the patients, residents, coworkers and themselves, it's important that all direct-care staff get the shot which will reduce the spread of influenza."

All Manitobans eligible for the vaccine available through the public program can be immunized at public-health clinics throughout the province during November and December or can get immunized by their family doctor. Influenza is generally spread from person to person by sneezing, coughing and other direct physical contact.  Symptoms may include fever and chills, cough, headaches, muscle aches, runny nose, sore throat and exhaustion. Influenza is more severe than a cold.  Contracting influenza can result in severe complications such as pneumonia, hospitalization or even death.  Influenza vaccines are considered safe and the benefits are expected to significantly outweigh any risks.

"If they have never had a pneumococcal vaccination before, Manitobans age 65 and over are also eligible to get a pneumococcal shot at the same time they get their flu shot," said Irvin-Ross.  "Getting a pneumococcal vaccination can prevent pneumonia, blood infection and meningitis caused by pneumococcal bacteria."

Last year, more than 221,834 Manitobans received influenza vaccines.  Information about flu shots and influenza symptoms is available at www.gov.mb.ca/health/flu/index.html.