The world is not ending, but people are training for it.

Jonathan Michell is one of the organizers behind the Zombie Prep Camp taking place at a camp on Katepwa Lake, about an hour northeast of Regina.

Michell says they came up with the idea because camp is fun and adults should have a chance to go, too.

They picked the theme because zombies are the focus of popular television shows such as “The Walking Dead” and movies, but also because they create a good metaphor for the worst-case scenario of survival.

Several emergency planning groups across North America have used the zombie scenario to draw attention to preparation for natural disasters or health outbreaks, including the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We have professional instructors teaching archery, first aid, unarmed combat, fire-starting, shelter building; we also have lectures on the psychological impact of the apocalypse,” Michell explained.

The 15 registered campers will also have to test their skills.

“Throughout the weekend there is a small army of zombie volunteers that are going to be trying to “kill” you and “eat your corpse’,” Michell said.

While it doesn’t hurt to prepare for the worst, he says the ultimate goal is to get active, meet people and have fun.

(CJME)

OTTAWA – Sen. Pamela Wallin is leaving the Conservative caucus, the second senator in as many days to do so amid a storm of allegations of dubious expense claims.

Wallin’s travel expenses — $321,000 since September 2010 — have been the subject of an external audit since December.

In a brief written statement, Wallin — a former CTV broadcaster — says she has been co-operating fully with the auditors and had expected the process to be complete by now.

Since it is ongoing, Wallin says she’s decided to recuse herself from the Conservative caucus.

The decision comes after fellow former broadcaster Sen. Mike Duffy stepped down from the Tory caucus Thursday amid controversy about his housing expenses — and where he got the money to pay them back.

The Prime Minister’s Office admitted earlier this week that Nigel Wright, Stephen Harper’s chief of staff, footed the $90,000 bill for Duffy.

MORE TO COME

The Criminal Code Review Board has ruled that Vince Li (LEE’) can go on more escorted day trips from the mental hospital where he is in custody.

Li was already allowed short escorted visits into nearby Selkirk, but soon will be able to make supervised, full-day trips to Lockport and Winnipeg and nearby beaches.

The board also says Li can have unsupervised visits on the grounds of the Selkirk Mental Health Centre.

Li’s psychiatrist has said the 45-year-old hasn’t had hallucinations in more than a year and is a low risk to reoffend.

Li was an undiagnosed schizophrenic when he stabbed and beheaded Tim McLean and ate parts of his body in July 2008.

A New Brunswick judge quashed the publication ban on the identities of those subject to the search warrants.

No arrests have been made since Oland was killed nearly two years ago.

The lawyer for Dennis Oland didn’t return a message seeking comment.

The elder Oland was found dead in his Saint John office on July 7, 2011.

Richard Oland was a member of the family that owns Moosehead Breweries Ltd., but left the company in the 1980s.

He also worked in the trucking business, at the Saint John Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., and as a director of several firms, including Eastern Provincial Airways, Newfoundland Capital Corp., and Ganong Bros.

The theft of the items, some of them dating to the 17th century, made headlines across the country last weekend.

The artifacts were anonymously turned into police headquarters late Thursday night.

Victoria Police Staff Sgt. Scott McGregor says police had been working tirelessly on the case and he believes the person who dropped off the items may have been feeling some heat.

The items recovered included gold and silver chalices, Canadian coins and a communion plate.

The display case where some of the artifacts were stored was alarmed, but the thieves managed to cut their way in and grab the items before authorities were alerted.

Thirty-five-year-old Chona Manzano and five-year-old Gabriel Manzano were found dead Thursday in a home on the northwest edge of the city.

Police say they soon began looking for a vehicle associated with the home.

Mounties pulled it over on a highway about 90 kilometres north near Olds and took the driver into custody.

Police say the suspect is related to the dead but is not an immediate family member and did not live in the same home.

Guevara Wilson Clorina, who is 26 and from Calgary, faces two counts of second-degree murder.

He is to appear in court next Tuesday.

— Aug. 19, 2010: As the campaign heads into the home stretch, Ford holds a news conference to discuss a 1999 arrest for marijuana possession in Florida. He ultimately pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and failing to give a breath sample to police.

— June 2011: Ford angers the city’s gay community by declining to attend either the city’s gay pride parade or the flag-raising ceremony to kick off Pride Week. Ford said he would be at the family cottage for the parade. His decision broke with tradition that saw the city’s three previous mayors march in the parade.

— Jul. 26, 2011: A Toronto woman accuses Ford of giving her the finger after she asked him to get off his cellphone while driving. Ford says the incident was a misunderstanding.

— Oct. 5, 2011: Another woman accuses Ford of talking and texting on his cellphone while behind the wheel. Calls flood in for the mayor to hire a driver, but Ford declines and describes such an expense as a waste of taxpayer dollars.

— Oct. 25, 2011: Ford makes numerous calls to 911 after being accosted by a crew from CBC’s “This Hour has 22 Minutes.” Ford says he felt threatened by the presence of the crew and alleges they scared his daughter.

— Mar. 12, 2012: Toronto resident Paul Magder launches a lawsuit alleging Ford had a conflict of interest when he voted on a council matter involving his football charity. The matter eventually worked its way to court where Ford was found guilty of the charge, only to have the ruling overturned on appeal.

— May 2, 2012: Ford calls police after a confrontation with Toronto Star reporter Daniel Dale. Ford alleged Dale was spying on him at his home, while Dale contended he was on public property next door doing research for a story. Dale alleged he was physically threatened by the mayor, a claim Ford denied.

— Sept. 19, 2012: While on an official visit to Chicago, Ford mistakenly identifies Winnipeg as a city located across the border from Detroit. Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz volunteered to give his Toronto counterpart some geography lessons, since Winnipeg is roughly 1,800 kilometres from where Ford had said.

— Nov. 6, 2012: Ford comes under fire after a Toronto Transit Commission bus was emptied of passengers and rerouted to collect his football team. Police say the decision to commandeer the bus was made by an officer and not Ford. Ford himself placed at least two calls to the head of the TTC requesting information on the bus when it failed to show up as promptly as expected.

— Mar. 8, 2013: Ford vehemently denies allegations from former mayoral rival Sarah Thomson that he touched her inappropriately during a political dinner. Thomson claimed the mayor was behaving oddly and made suggestive remarks before grabbing her.

— Mar. 24, 2013: Ford calls into a local radio show to complain about the defence tactics used in a high profile court case. Ford scorned the “not criminally responsible” defence that was successfully used on behalf of Richard Kachkar, who killed a Toronto police officer while driving a stolen snowplow. Ford’s comments drew criticism from the defence lawyer, who called them “prehistoric” and took the mayor to task for speaking out as deliberations began.

— Mar. 26, 2013: Ford denies a Toronto Star report that he was turfed from an official dinner due to drunkenness and an ongoing battle with alcohol addiction. Ford described the story as an “outright lie.”

— May 16: Reports surface in U.S.-based news site Gawker and later in the Toronto Star that Ford was seen on video smoking what appears to be crack cocaine. The Toronto Star also reported that Ford can be heard referring to Liberal leader Justin Trudeau in disparaging terms. The video could not be independently verified. Ford calls the drug video allegations “ridiculous.”

In the warrants, Const. Stacy Humphrey of the Saint John Police Force alleged that Dennis Oland was the prime suspect.

The suspect’s name  identified by police in search warrant documents  had been protected by a publication ban, but a decision released today from the Court  lifted the order.

Oland who was 69, was found  dead in his uptown office on July 7, 2011.

No charges have yet been laid  by city police

A Conservative Senate source, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak to the media, says senators want the report on Duffy’s expense claims brought back before the committee.

The request was prompted by reports that Duffy campaigned for the Conservatives during the April 2011 election while saying he was on Senate business — and claimed expenses from both.

Duffy resigned from the Conservative caucus Thursday to as controversy raged over his expense claims.

But he has left behind a trail of unanswered questions about the expenses and why the prime minister backed him for so long.

The Prime Minister’s Office continues to stand behind Nigel Wright, Stephen Harper’s chief of staff, despite his secret gift to Duffy to help repay the expenses.