South Mountain
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SAFE LANDING
Friday, JULY 3, 2026 Vo lum e 18 N um b e r36
FREE TAKE ONE SERVIN G ERICK SON , ON AN OLE, SAN D Y LAK E, ELPHIN STON E, W ASAGAM IN G, ROLLIN G RIVER, K EESEEK OOW EN IN & SURROUN D IN G AREA
DAR R E L L N E SBIT T / SO U T H M O U N T AIN PR E SS Yellowhead and Spruce Plains RCMP were alerted to a small aircraft with four people aboard in distress around 7:10 p.m. on Thursday, June 25, as it was attempting to land on Highway 45. The single engine aircraft left from The Pas and was en route to Brandon when the pilot made an emergency landing on the highway, east of Sandy Lake, coming to a stop in the north ditch. No serious injuries were reported and the investigation continues.
Tornad o rocks Rossb urn region Storm p roduces la rge torn a do on Sun da y, Jun e 28 w hich da m a ged tw o rura l p rop erties southea stof R ossburn RAC HEAL FLIN TO FT So uth M o unta in Pre ss
A tornado tore through two rural properties southeast of Rossburn Sunday evening, levelling buildings, uprooting trees, and leaving two residents briefly trapped before storm chasers pulled them to safety.
Brian and Bernadine Brown and their neighbours Eric and Tia Kiez lost buildings, vehicles, and property in the storm. The Browns’ farmhouse – a 1904 brick home the couple had lived in for 22 years and planned to restore as their retirement project – was demolished. Their barn and every tree on the property are gone. At the Kiez yard,
the shop was destroyed, and the house sustained serious damage. Brian Brown said there was almost no warning. “It happened so fast,” he said. “Bernadine, my wife, and I were in the parlour. She was putting clothes into the laundry. I had just opened the fridge and a tree came down in the yard. All of a sudden, the win-
dows blew out and we hit the floor.” The couple were trapped beneath debris until Aaron Jayjack and his crew from Aaron Jayjack Extreme Storm Chasers arrived moments after the tornado passed. The storm trackers had been monitoring the system and reached the property almost immediately. “The storm trackers were here
so fast, and they found us and pulled us out to safety,” Brown said. Rossburn Fire Chief Kelly Slon, a 40-year department veteran, said the scene was unlike anything he had witnessed in four decades of service.
$ Finance a new camper, boat, vehicle, or trip, and you could get up to three months of payments covered. Connect with a Sunrise lender to enter. *Some conditions apply. Three (3) winners will be selected, one (1) per Sunrise district. Each winner will receive either three (3) months of payments or up to $3,000 in payments, whichever is less. Winner financing must be approved to qualify. Deadline to qualify July 31, 2026. See branch for details.
SEE ‘W E AR E ST IL L IN SH O CK ’, PAGE 2