Thou shalt not steal.

This is a lesson Dean Chartier of Buffalo Narrows may have to learn the hard way following his arrest Monday (Feb. 15). Chartier is charged in connection with a break-and-enter to the Church of St. Leo the Great. The break-in was reported to the RCMP Feb. 14 at 10:25 a.m. by David Seright, lay minister at the church.

“I came in early that morning to get things ready – to check the heat and make sure everything was ready to go,” Seright told Northern Pride.

Upon his arrival, Seright did notice the door to the church was not fully closed, but did not initially become concerned.

“The door was ajar, but I assumed the priest (Fr. Ramu Polimetla) who lives next door and who was off to Ile-a-la Crosse that morning for mass had come in to check the heat before he left and didn’t quite pull the door shut,” he said. “As soon as I walked into the church, however, I noticed the tabernacle was missing.”

A tabernacle is an ornamental locked box used for reserving the communion hosts.

“That’s when I looked around and saw other things were missing,” Seright added.

According to the RCMP, in addition to the tabernacle, other items missing included chalices, robes, crosses and other religious artifacts. Meanwhile, some items were not stolen, but instead simply damaged.

“There were some porcelain crosses and whatnot that were broken,” Seright noted.

Seright also said this isn’t the first time the church has been broken into, recalling an incident from a number of years ago.

“It was quite a few years back when someone went in, but I don’t know what they took,” he said.

Many of the stolen items from this week’s break-in, however, were recovered prior to the police even being made aware a crime had been committed.

“We have a big sort of barrel where we keep the holy water,” Seright explained. “It was pretty much empty, so he (suspect) apparently threw everything in there and dragged it away. Looking outside, you could see where he dragged it off. I followed the track across the street, behind the Friendship Centre and eventually into the cemetery. There is an old building in the cemetery with no door where they used to keep the shovels and other things. I found the bin and many of the stolen items in there. I hauled it back to the church and that’s when I called the police.”

The stolen items are valued at more than $5,000.

Meanwhile, a subsequent investigation led police to conduct a search warrant at a home in Buffalo Narrows the following day. Numerous religious items were also recovered during the search including crosses, robes and other artifacts from the church. As a result, Chartier, 49, of Buffalo Narrows was charged with break, enter and theft as well as other offences, and will appear in Buffalo Narrows court April 14.

“I don’t know if he is crying for help or crying for attention, but he needs help,” Seright said. “All we can do is pray for this fellow.”

A break-in was also reported Feb. 13 at Our Lady of Peace Roman Catholic Church in Meadow Lake. Police report a set of golf clubs was stolen from the parish office.

by Phil Ambroziak

The post Arrest made following church break-in appeared first on Northern Pride Publications.

As a result of an ongoing investigation, a search warrant was executed at a residence in Buffalo Narrows March 27 by Buffalo Narrows RCMP and the RCMP Crime Reduction Team. Quantities of what are believed to be cocaine and methamphetamine were located and seized from the residence as well as more than $11,000 cash and 11 firearms.

Cody Edward Desjarlais, 31, of Buffalo Narrows is charged with: one count of trafficking cocaine; one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking methamphetamine; one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine; one count of possession of proceeds of crime over $5,000; one count of possession of a weapon for dangerous purpose; one count of unsafe storage of a firearm; one count of possession of a prohibited weapon; one count of possession of a firearm without a licence; and two counts of breach of release order.

A warrant has been issued for his arrest. Desjarlais may be in the communities of Buffalo Narrows, Prince Albert or Saskatoon, but this is not confirmed.

The post RCMP seize quantities of drugs appeared first on Northern Pride Publications.

On June 7 at approximately 6:30 p.m., Buffalo Narrows RCMP received a complaint about a group of possibly-armed individuals outside a residence on the 400 block of Tom Street in Buffalo Narrows.

The suspects, however, had already left when police arrived. Investigation revealed these individuals had allegedly threatened an occupant of the residence with a firearm.

Officers from the Buffalo Narrows, Dillon, Turnor Lake and La Loche RCMP detachments, as well as RCMP Police Dog Services, assisted in locating and arresting all the individuals that evening. Officers also seized a loaded firearm, ammunition and other weapons in relation to this investigation.

Six individuals were arrested as a result of this investigation: Mitchelle Ballantyne, 25, of Ile-a-la Crosse; Kayla Bouvier, 32, of Ile-a-la Crosse; Timothy Corrigal, 30, of Ile-a-la Crosse; Anthony Couillonneur, 24, of Cole Bay; Abraham McCallum, 39, of Buffalo Narrows; and Derek Moate, 33, of Ile-a-la Crosse.

The individuals are charged with one count each of: assault with weapon; use of a firearm in the commission of an offence; pointing a firearm; possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose; carrying a concealed weapon; knowledge of unauthorized possession of a firearm/weapon; possession of a firearm/weapon in a motor vehicle; and possession of a weapon obtained by crime.

Ballantyne has been also charged with one count of failing to comply with probation order. McCallum has also been charged with two counts of possessing a weapon contrary to an order and one count of failing to comply with a release order.

All appeared in court June 9.

The post Six charged with assault, firearms offences in Buffalo Narrows appeared first on Northern Pride Publications.

Although slight in nature, 2021 census numbers do indicate an increase in the overall population throughout the Northwest region compared to the five years previous.

When combining the majority of communities throughout the Northwest, the overall population increased by close to 260 people. Increases, however, were not the case for each individual community, as the City of Meadow Lake’s population is down slightly from the census conducted in 2016. The city’s population now stands at 5,322, a decrease of 0.4 per cent from the 5,344 reported in 2016. Meanwhile, the total number of private dwellings located within the city is 2,125, 1,930 of which are occupied by usual residents. A private dwelling occupied by usual residents refers to a private dwelling in which a person or a group of persons is permanently residing at the time the census was conducted.

“The census numbers for the City of Meadow Lake have stayed almost exactly the same,” noted mayor Merlin Seymour. “While we would always like to see a steady growth in the city, the RM of Meadow Lake numbers rose while neighbouring Flying Dust First Nation gained 102. With the small variance in numbers, I am not concerned in any way. There can be many different reasons for the number changes. An example of this could be people living within the urban municipality choose to live in the country for different reasons.”

As Seymour noted, the RM of Meadow Lake has seen an increase in population since 2016. The RM now boasts a population of 2,553 compared to 2,476 in 2016, an increase of 3.1 per cent. The total number of private dwellings is 1,215 with 988 occupied by usual residents.

“I can’t say for sure what would have led to us seeing an increase in RM residents, but there is always a desire for many to have there own little piece of land to call their own,” stated RM reeve Harvey Harriott. “Also, I believe in the City of Meadow Lake it can be difficult to find rental homes at times. This may help some people to make the final decision to move out. I tend to feel the census folks did a great job of explaining the value of recording accurately the amount of people in areas, and it is important because the higher number of the population is directly tied to grants RM’s, cities and hamlets can access.”

Harriott went on to say the RM encourages people to build homes in the community.

“The RM is also trying to offer better services to the ratepayers, whether it be agriculture producers, acreage owners or small rural business,” he said. 

Meanwhile, the Village of Loon Lake’s population is down slightly from 288 to 281, a decrease of -2.4 per cent. In the RM of Loon Lake, however, the population went up from 756 to 836, an increase of 10.6 per cent.

Numbers also went up in La Loche where the population now sits at 2,514 compared to 2,444, an increase of 2.9 per cent. There was a small drop, however, in Buffalo Narrows from 1,110 in 2016 to 1,014 in 2021, a decrease of 8.6 per cent.

In Ile-a-la Crosse, the population went up 10 per cent from 1,296 to 1,425 while in Beauval there are now 685 residents compared to 640, an increase of seven per cent.

Green Lake’s numbers dropped slightly, though, from, 429 to 411, a decrease of 4.2 per cent.

Full census information can be found at the Statistics Canada website, www.statcan.gc.ca.

by Phil Ambroziak

The post Overall population up throughout Northwest appeared first on Northern Pride Publications.

Bruce Leier is ready to make a difference in the community he’s called him for the past three decades.

Leier, who in 2020 retired from his long-time career as a municipal advisor to the ministry of government relations, was elected to Buffalo Narrows village council last Wednesday (Jan. 25) following a by-election to fill the vacancy created by the departure of now former councillor Gary Ericson. Leier earned 83 votes to fellow candidate Brenda Chartier’s 57 and former Buffalo Narrows mayor Bobby Woods’ 31.

“When you put your name forward, you take your chances, and what can I say?” Leier remarked following his win. “I make no promises other than to try to build a better community. That’s where it stands. I worked for the government for 30 years and looking after communities was part of my responsibilities. I feel I have the knowledge and understanding to do the job, and can put that knowledge and understanding to good use.”

During his career with the government, Leier was appointed by the ministry to look after the affairs of five northern settlements that had no decision-making authority – Garson Lake, Ducharme Lake, Black Point, Bear Creek and Sled Lake.

“As for hamlets with a mayor and council, and thus a decision-making authority, my job was to help them plan, to make decisions and so on,” Leier added. “I also worked with the mayors and councils to teach them how to budget, how to plan, how to do all the things they needed to do to carry out their duties. Some communities with certified administrators, my role was to provide technical advice and assistance.”

It’s this experience, Leier reiterated, which fuelled his desire to run for Buffalo Narrows council and which will help him to be successful in his new job.

“If I can give back to the community I have been a part of all these years, I will do what I can to help out,” he noted. “When I was a government employee, I was prohibited for running for council. Now was just the right time.”

A total of 171 votes were cast in last week’s by-election. According to Leier, that number could have been higher.

“I don’t believe there was as much interest as there would be if it was a full-fledged municipal election,” he said.

The next municipal election is not scheduled until 2024. In the meantime, however, another by-election (a date for which has yet to be determined) will take place in Buffalo Narrows in the near future. Shortly after Ericson’s resignation, councillor Tracy Tinker also stepped down.

“I’m just looking forward to being able to help out,” Leier said. “Everybody is always demanding something, but there are only so many dollars to go around. You have to prioritize and make informed and good decisions that will benefit the community as a whole going into the future… Thank you to everyone who supported me. Hopefully I can live up to your expectations.”

by Phil Ambroziak

The post Bruce Leier elected to B.N. council appeared first on Northern Pride Publications.