Wednesday, June 12, 2019
Serving the Hub of the North since 1960
Volume 59 • Issue 24
16-year-old arrested in June 5 stabbing 19-year-old suspect wanted in that stabbing and another about an hour later
COMMITTEE AIMS TO OPEN NEW POOL BY 2022 NEWS PAGE 3
SONGS IN THE KEY OF CREE PLAYS THOMPSON ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT PAGE 6
SHELDIN HOWARD WINS DISCUS GOLD AT TRACK PROVINCIALS SPORTS PAGE 7
BY IAN GRAHAM
EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET
One arrest was made after a pair of stabbings in Thompson June 5 and June 6 near the Boardman Funeral Home on Nelson Road and on Stanford Bay off Princeton Drive in Eastwood. A 16-year-old male from Thompson was arrested June 6 for the previous night’s stabbing of a 23-yearold man from Oxford House on a path between Princeton Drive and Nelson Road just after 11 p.m. He is charged with armed robbery, aggravated assault and possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose and has been remanded into custody. Police investigation determined that two men approached the victim and one of them stabbed him before both of them fled. An RCMP spokesperson said the victim was being treated in hospital and was in stable
condition. A person who knows the victim and asked not to be identified told the Thompson Citizen that the knife slightly damaged the victim’s liver but did not hit any other organs. Thompson RCMP are looking for another suspect in relation to both the June 5 stabbing and one that took place about an hour later on Stanford Bay. Nineteen-year-old Trinity Flett is wanted for aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, armed robbery, possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose and failure to comply with a probation order. RCMP investigation indicated that the 31-year-old victim of that attack, who was found nearby on Princeton Drive and taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, had an altercation of Stanford Bay that resulted in his being stabbed. Flett is described as six feet tall
Thompson Citizen photo by Ian Graham
RCMP photo Thompson RCMP are seeking 19-year-old Trinity Flett, above, in connection with a June 5 stabbing near Nelson Road and one about an hour later, shortly after midnight June 6, on Stanford Bay, left.
and 172 pounds with black hair and brown eyes and is believed to be in the Thompson area. Accounts of the stabbings were posted on the Facebook discussion group Thompson Talk. The latest stabbings occurred within a week of three separate stabbings taking place within a threehour period in the early morning hours of May 30. Two of the victims of those stabbings were taken to Winnipeg for treatment of their injuries. Thompson RCMP have arrested one teenager and are looking for another in relation to a June 4 incident near Juniper Drive when a 14-year-old was chased by a group of youths armed with machetes. A 15-year-old male was arrested June 5 and charged with assault with a weapon and possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose
in relation to that incident. He was remanded into custody but police are also searching for a 17-year-old male from Thompson who is wanted for assault with a weapon and possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose. RCMP took the rare step last week of making an ex parte application to a youth justice judge to name him and publish his photo because there was reason to believe he was a danger to others and that publishing this information was necessary to assist in his apprehension. That application was valid for five days. Anyone with information about Flett’s whereabouts or these incidents is asked to call Thompson RCMP at 204-677-6909 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800222-8477. Tips can also be submitted online at www.manitobacrimestoppers.com.
OCN company fourth entrant into crowded Thompson bus market BY KYLE DARBYSON
KYLE@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET
Mahihkan Bus Lines recently wrapped up its first full month of operations in Thompson, which means the local bus market is now supporting four transportation companies with similar services. Originally known as Kelsey Bus Lines, Mahihkan is owned by the Aseneskak Casino in Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN) and decided to expand their reach into places like Flin Flon and Thompson after Greyhound shut down their western Canadian operations in October 2018. Mahihkan started offering their services in the Hub of the North in mid-April 2019, including a route to Winni-
peg six days a week. While CEO Suzanne Barbeau-Bracegirdle admits that the company is starting off slowly in Thompson, she said their freight, passenger and charter services are still running smoothly. “We provide excellent service and we are core certified, which means that our buses are right up to date and they’re well-maintained,” she said. “We provide excellent customer service, and we’re going to be doing a lot more activities in Thompson to get our name out there.” Part of their marketing included their recent name change. According to Barbeau-Bracegirdle, she and the other partners decided to change their name to
Mahihkan (which means wolf in Cree) to highlight the company’s 100 per cent Indigenous ownership. Mahihkan will still have to play catch-up in the local bus market, since its three competitors—Thompson Bus, Maple Bus Lines and Highway 6 Express—have been on the road since last year. While Barbeau-Bracegirdle said Mahihkan aims to be a competitive entity in this space, she also mentioned that they want to be as cooperative as possible to the community at large, which includes lending a hand to their competitors if need be. “So any negative stuff that’s out there we’re not going to play with that,”
Thompson Citizen photo courtesy of Jennifer Nabess The Mahihkan Bus Lines Thompson depot is located at the Plaza mall. Their buses depart for Winnipeg at 12 p.m. daily from Sunday to Friday. she said. “We want to stay positive and we want to stay focused on what we want to do and whatever the com-
munity’s needs are.” Aseneskak Casino has owned and operated Mahihkan/Kelsey Bus Lines
since 2014. Before that, the McAdam family ran the company in The Pas for over 50 years.