That man from La Broquerie who died after running into his burning home to save his teenaged son, has now been identified as 36 year old Jacob Merkel. Fire officials say the blaze started in the attached garage where electricity built up in an extension cord that had a vehicle parked on it. Merkel’s wife and 3 other younger children made it out of the blaze unharmed. The teenaged son is still in hospital listed in critical condition.
Water levels are dropping near a couple of northern areas threatened with flooding. Provincial officials say river water that got within 5 centimeters of a bridge to the Sapotaweyak Cree Nation has started to subside. Water is also dropping at the Waterhen reserve, where residents and emergency crews have been working hard to build up the town’s dike.
4 children from a Winnipeg family are orphans following a collision on a Saskatchewan highway between a car and a minivan. Police say their parents, both 38 years old, died Sunday when a Honda Civic trying to pass another vehicle crashed into their minivan on the Yellowhead Highway east of Yorkton. The car’s 17 year old female driver from Yorkton was also killed. The RCMP say the road was covered with snow at the time, and visibility was reduced.
The province plans to stop giving out compensation to crime victims who have criminal records themselves. Attorney General Andrew Swan says he wants to make sure those involved in a criminal lifestyle don’t benefit when they themselves fall victim to crimes. Swan tabled a bill in the Leg yesterday that would deny things like counseling, funeral coverage and other items, for those who have a serious conviction within the last 10 years.
A Winnipeg judge threw the book at a former financial adviser who swindled his clients out of more than 1.5 million dollars. 64 year old Gary Palmer got 8 years behind bars, one more year than the Crown requested. Palmer, who plead guilty to 15 counts of fraud, was called a predator by the judge who showed no mercy in his sentence. Court was told Palmer used the stolen cash for things like vacations, car payments, and other family expenses.
Qantas says some of its superjumbo jets will be back in service this weekend. Australia’s national airline grounded its entire fleet of Airbus A-380’s, 3 weeks ago, after the engine of one of them blew apart. Qantas, which by the way has never had a single fatal accident in all of its years flying, have made modifications to the Rolls Royce engines which they say are now safe.
And it’s not just us getting an early shot of winter. Residents out on the west coast are having a hard time believing winter doesn’t officially start for 4 more weeks. Victoria, the usually balmy B.C. capital got nailed with over 10 centimeters of snow yesterday….which is about as much as it gets during an entire winter. Today’s predicted high for Victoria is -4, which is about 14 degrees below the city’s normal for November.
Well the good news is, he’s not talking tax increases….but Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says something has got to be done about our massive deficit. Flaherty says that’ll be priority number one when the next budget comes down in 3 or 4 months. He says all our red ink has got to be eliminated and as a result there will be no major spending programs.
And authorities in New Zealand suggest hope has almost run out for 29 men in a coal mine. The miners have been missing since Friday, when the mine was rocked by a massive explosion. Rescuers have been unable to enter the mine because of high levels of toxic gas, including highly explosive methane.
