Lots of interviews and some breaking news too in a shorter than usual week.
Tuesday: The strange story of a "business invasion" at radio station CJSB on December 22 crossed our desk.
When we contacted the Swan River RCMP, they shed some light on the subject. Evidentally 5 people, two adults and three teenagers, entered the station on the Friday night before Christmas, and armed with little more than a bill of sale, proceeded to dismantle the equipment, knocking the FM'er off the air. Staff called the Mounties, who attended the scene and scored the matter a civil dispute involving a former employee and a genuine belief someone had sold the studio to someone else. The Crown Attorney from Dauphin will look at the file but charges are not expected to be laid. What will happen with the repair bill and the 8 hours of lost broadcast time is anyone's guess.
Consecutive drug and weapons busts in Winkler and Morden caught our attention as the scourge of crack resurfaced in Southwestern Manitoba. Beside drugs, paraphenalia and cash, a rare steroid seizure was part of the pre-New Years operation. Five people in total were charged for the various offences.
Dan Denton of Frozen Pond Productions called from Los Angeles and we spoke for 30 minutes about a variety of subjects. I was raving about the Boise State Broncos comeback win over Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl, and Denton told a great story about being recruited by BSU. They were the only school to emphasize non-academic subjects, which he explained meant that the pamphlet included pics of co-eds rafting. He was ready to enroll but his mother was less convinced that girls in shorts was part of a well-rounded education.
On a more serious note, Denton spoke about how colour-blind his upbringing in Winnipeg was compared to the ethnic-gang warfare he sees everyday in LA, which is so bad now he has to change shirts when he goes to the mall lest he wear the wrong colours. He hopes to return for a visit in March and if he does, we'll have him in-studio to talk about all things Hollywood.
Wednesday: Kelly Dehn of CTV had all the details about the surprise announcement by Chief Jack Ewatski that he would be retiring at the end of September. Kelly said that Ewatski, love him or not, was very accessible to the media and whoever fills his shoes had to be able to develop a good relationship with the press.
David Asper, owner of the National Post, spent about 10 minutes responding to the Winnipeg Free Press story about his preparing a new proposal for a football stadium/retail complex at the present Polo Park location. David was very clear that whatever disagreement he may have had with the Board of the Blue Bombers had been overblown in the media, and he felt a new arrangement could be agreed upon, which would ensure the future financial viability of the team regardless of the actual ownership structure.
After taking a few minutes to reveiw the thrilling shootout win by Canada over the USA to advance to the world Junior Hockey gold medal game, it was time for a trip down memory lane.
We celebrated the birthday of the man who made hockey in Winnipeg, Bobby Hull, by getting original Jets goalie Joe Daley on the line. Joe was one of the last to play without a facemask and after ribbing him about his good looks, he regaled listeners with stories about the greatness of Bobby Hull, on the ice and away from the rink. Without Bobby leaving the Chicago Blackhawks and joining the fledgling WHA in 1972, players would never have earned more than fraction of the money they earned NHL owners at the gate. And Joe reminded us that when Bobby scored 50 goals in 50 games in 1975, it was as great an accomplishment as when Roger Maris went after Babe Ruth's home run record in 1962. Sports fans are invited to vist Joe at his eponymous card shop, at 666 St James St. across from Polo Park.
Happy Birthday Bobby Hull !
Thursday: New provincial standards for the licencing and training of security guards were set to begin, and the Provincial Registrar took a few minutes to explain the new rules. Charlene Muloin clarified some confusion on our part, that these rules and standards applied to in-house security (such as shopping malls) and private security firms, and that hospitality industry workers standards were under the auspices of the Liquor Commission. We'll get them on-air soon to explain how they see the role of bouncers in the new millenium.
The aftermath of the Ewatski announcement included the Chief refusing to do an interview with the Free Press, as a result of an editorial in September that had called for Ewatski to resign following revelations from the Driskell inquiry. Meanwhile the Winnipeg Sun dropped a little bombshell, that the step-son of the Chief was facing an internal and criminal investigation over a search warrant that was tossed out by the court for being a little loose with the facts.
We followed up on the stadium story, noting that the Free Press editorial was months behind in the details and that the team had committed to public consultations before any change to community ownership was acted upon.
Friday: CANADA 4 RUSSIA 2. WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPS. AGAIN.
The talk of the town was how proud the team, led by Winnipeggers Jon Toews and Darren Helm, made all Canadian fans. We made sure to praise coach Craig Hartsburgh, who prepared the team to play nearly perfect hockey throughout the tournament. Goaltender Carey Price was MVP of the championships and is a great story of a family who moved from a remote BC reserve to Williams Lake to give him a chance to play hockey and develop his skills.
A bizarre car accident near Kleefeld claimed the life of a teenage girl, who was the passenger in a Dodge Neon that collided with two horses that had escaped their pen. in the city, another police car was rammed by a stolen car, leading to the arrest of 2 men wanted in connection with 5 pre-Christmas break-ins.
To end out week the heroic actions of actor Days of Our Lives star Drake Hogesteyn was in the spotlight. Some deluded nut who thought Drake was really his on-screen character John Black and therefore, supposed to be dead (based on the storyline deathbed hospital scenes), entered the house and tried to "exorcise the Devil" from the not-quite-dead actor. A right cross and hogtie-ing later, police were called and Hogesteyn's family were safe from harm.
This gave us the overdue opportunity to use our best Stephano Dimera voice and proclaim "and now Marlena will be MINE!". Bravo Roman Brady, or John Black, or whatever the writers will be calling you in 2007.
