Bees, wasps to blame for wading pool closure
There’s a buzz at the Braeside Park wading pool and it’s not the sound of kids splashing around.
The Elmwood area aquatic facility was shut down after the city discovered a wasp nest and leafcutter bees in and around a maintenance building near the wading pool.
The temporary closure means families in the neighbourhood have one less place to beat the heat.
“It’s really nice to have such a close little area for the kids to come cool down in the summer, especially with the weather we’ve been having,” resident Nicholas Scanlan told CTV News. “So with it being closed, it’s just one less thing for us to do within walking distance.”
In an email to CTV News, the city confirmed it found and treated a yellowjacket wasp nest near the pool. While crews wait to see if the treatment worked, they are also on the lookout for leafcutter bees.
“I’m not too concerned about the bees per se,” Scanlan said. “But again, I’m glad that they did their due diligence and protected the bees and the kids.”
Jason Gibbs, an associate professor at the University of Manitoba’s entomology department, said leafcutter bees are relatively harmless.
“They’re not aggressive, they don’t defend their nest,” Gibbs explained. “And so it’s actually extremely difficult to get stung by a leafcutter bee.”
Meantime, Elmwood Coun. Jason Schreyer said he’s asking the city to put up signs to keep community members informed during the closure.
“They are going to put this on their website and I’ve asked them to put that information on signage right on this fence here at Braeside,” Schreyer told CTV News. “And I believe at this point, this is the best they can do.”
While the Braeside Park wading pool sits empty, Shreyer said the one at Morse Park Community Centre – about a 15-minute walk away – is fully functional and open to the public all week long.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bloc Quebecois ready to extract gains for Quebec in exchange for supporting Liberals
The Bloc Québécois says its ready to wheel and deal with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's party for support during confidence votes now that the Liberal government's confidence and supply agreement with the NDP has ended.
Over 200 firearms seized in Waterloo weapons investigation
According to police, during a traffic stop officers noticed firearms and ammunition inside the vehicle.
'It's morally wrong': A rural Alberta town reacts to homeless shelter closure
At the end of a side street in Slave Lake, Alta., Lynn Bowes looks at a grey job-site trailer with boarded-up windows and doors that once operated as her town's only homeless shelter.
Trump threatens to jail adversaries in escalating rhetoric ahead of pivotal debate
With just days to go before his first and likely only debate against U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, former U.S. president Donald Trump posted a warning on his social media site threatening to jail those “involved in unscrupulous behavior” this election, which he said would be under intense scrutiny.
Timeline: The rise and fall of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's political fortunes
In the wake of the NDP withdrawing its automatic support of the minority Liberal government, here is a timeline of key events charting the arc of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's fortunes in federal politics.
Military surplus store in Calgary, destination of celebrity shoppers, closing doors
Cher, Anthony Hopkins, Heath Ledger, Alec Baldwin and Tom Hardy are just a few of the celebrities John Cumming met while growing up in his family's military surplus store.
Jannik Sinner beats Taylor Fritz in U.S. Open men's final, weeks after failed doping test
Jannik Sinner beat Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 with a relentless baseline game to win the U.S. Open men’s championship on Sunday, less than three weeks after being exonerated in a doping case.
The controversial plan to turn a desert green
Ties van der Hoeven's ambitions are nothing if not grand. The Dutch engineer wants to transform a huge stretch of inhospitable desert into green, fertile land teeming with wildlife.
Mother of Georgia shooting suspect called school to warn of emergency, aunt says
The mother of the 14-year-old who has been charged with murder over the fatal shooting of four people at his Georgia high school called the school before the killings, warning staff of an 'extreme emergency' involving her son, a relative said.