As part of the CADAC Festival of Trees this weekend a Breakfast with Santa will support the Creighton Community School class of 2014.  CADAC’s Laurel Mackie says you can enjoy a fun breakfast tomorrow from 9 to 11. She adds its five dollars a plate, there will be treats for the kids, Santa will be there so bring your camera and remember Santa loves it when you bring items for the Food Bank.
             

The grads will also be holding a Silver Bells tea tomorrow from 1 to 3.  These events are part of the Festival of Trees being held in the Creighton Community School gym tonight from 6 to 9:30 and tomorrow from 9 to 4.

The Cranberry Portage Child and Family Resource Center is holding their annual Cranberry Christmas Arts, Crafts and More sale tomorrow to support youth programming in the community.  The Center’s Debbie McLauchlan says they have about 60 vendors with over 100 tables in two gymnasiums.  She says both gyms have excellent canteens with lunches, coffee and snacks and they’re going to have a really good variety of products, something for everybody.  She adds lots of their regulars have come back for their fifth year and they have lots of new people that are coming.
             

The sale will be open tomorrow from 9:30 to 3 in the Frontier Collegiate and Cranberry Portage Elementary School gymnasiums.

The Rotary Club of Flin Flon kicked off Operation Red Nose for another season at their meeting yesterday.  Co-Chair Ted Hewitt says the idea is to get people and their vehicles home safely.  He says when someone calls they need to know where they’re at, they ask them for their phone number so if they get lost trying to find them they can get a hold of them, what kind of vehicle they are going to be driving and the number of seat belts because they are going to have two of their people in the vehicle, so there has to be enough seat belts for them and everybody else who wants to ride in the vehicle.
           

Operation Red Nose gets underway tonight and tomorrow night and runs every Friday and Saturday in December as well as New Year’s Eve.  For a ride call 204-687-7331.

The Rotary Club of Flin Flon is again running Operation Red Nose through the Christmas season.  It’s a program to get partiers and their vehicles home safely.  Chairperson Ted Hewitt says they need volunteers for several jobs including navigator and that’s the person that travels in the client’s vehicle and then they also need drivers for the client’s vehicle.  He says another one is the pick up vehicle that after the client’s vehicle is dropped off picks up the navigator and the driver.

Hewitt adds they also need office workers noting the volunteers are needed starting this weekend and every Friday and Saturday in December as well as New Years Eve.  Volunteer forms are available at Flin Flon Insurance, Standard Insurance and Scotia Bank and can be returned to Scotia Bank.

The Salvation Army in Flin Flon is looking for groups or individuals to help them with their Christmas Kettle Campaign.  Major Debbie Allan says they need a number of volunteers to operate this year’s campaign.  She says they are asking people to help them out by going an hour or two.  She says they generally go in hour shifts because it’s cold standing outside here in Flin Flon so if anybody can help out they can phone and it would be greatly appreciated as they are out Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

The kettles will be out through the Christmas season starting tomorrow as long as volunteers are available.  Call the Salvation Army to volunteer at 204-687-7812.

The CADAC Center Festival of Trees is being held tomorrow and Saturday.  Executive Director Laurel Mackie says there’s a lot to see.  She says first they are going to see some spectacular center pieces, wreaths and trees all decorated up.  She says their theme this year is Christmas Past, Present and Future and they would like the public to vote on those trees because there’s some pretty heavy duty competition going on for best in show, as well as the people’s choice award.

Mackie adds there will also be a craft show with local and out of town businesses and you can bring in gently used winter clothing and blankets for kids and adults and items for the Food Bank.

The Festival of Trees runs tomorrow evening from 6 to 9:30 and Saturday from 9 to 4 in the Creighton Community School gym.

RCMP Sergeant Shayne Smith told the Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce his last posting was Shamattawa and he is now acting commander for Flin Flon Detachment.  He says he has had discussions with the Age Friendly Committee on issues on Main Street including panhandling and public intoxication.  He says the overwhelming consensus is that it’s going to take more than one agency or one business or mayor and council alone to deal with the issue and he welcomes the opportunity to work with the businesses and mayor and council and other committees within the city.

Smith says their present strategy includes more presence on Main Street with foot and car patrols and zero tolerance of breaches of court orders.  He says anyone seeing intoxicated people on the street or others causing problems should call the detachment so they can check into it.  He says overall there is a decrease in calls for their services so things are improving in the community.

Operation Christmas Child wrapped up in the Flin Flon Creighton area Sunday.  It’s a program to collect shoe boxes filled with gifts and other items for needy children around the world.  Local Coordinator Heather French says boxes were packed Sunday and shipped to Calgary.  She says it went very well with 237 boxes sent out and they will be going to countries such as Paraguay, Papua New Guinea, Venezuela and other South American countries.

French says they did better than last year when they collected just over 200 boxes.

The Play It Safer Network is encouraging you to learn more about HIV and Aids.  The Committee’s Christa McIntyre says their emphasis this week is on awareness. She says they’re going to have a radio quiz so listen and there’s a chance to win some great prizes, they’re going to have information in the newspaper, they’ll have fact sheets in community displays, they’ll have tent cards in restaurants around town and they’re going to be busy having activities in the schools.

For more information you can contact the Play It Safer Network at 204-687-8856 and for testing contact your doctor, nursing station or the local Primary Health Care Center.

Hapnot teacher Daniel Dillon gave the Flin Flon School Board a presentation last night regarding the travel club’s proposed trip to Greece in the spring of 2015.  Dillon told the board that over forty students have expressed interest in the trip that still needs the board’s approval.

A second presentation came from Ruth Betts Community School Principal Tammy Ballantyne and teacher Amber Kubat with the school plans for next year.  Three main goals were to have monthly attendance rates at 95 percent or greater, reduce bullying incidents by 50 percent by next June and have each student achieve one year’s growth in literacy and numeracy.

In other school news the Division has received 40 thousand dollars from the Federal Government administered through the University of Brandon and UCN supporting two projects.  Engaging All Learners and Peer Partners have been approved by the Vital Outcome Indicators For Community Engagement Project.  Planning for the projects will continue in January.

The Habitat 53° Chapter of Habitat for Humanity continues to build its first home in Flin Flon at 189 Steventon Boulevard for purchase by a low income working family.  Committee Chair Ted Elliott says they need volunteers to come out and help with the build.  He says they’re scheduled to pour concrete for the basement on Thursday so they’re going to be looking for volunteers to help framing of the sub-floor and once they get that done they exterior walls and roof which is scheduled for the first week in December, so if anybody can come out and help they’d really appreciate it.

If you are able to help on this phase of the project or want your name put on a list to help on future phases of the build you can contact Ted at 306-688-0052, Kathy at 204-687-6582 or Shawna at 204-687-3085.

Community Futures Greenstone is holding a video workshop tomorrow afternoon from 1 to 3.  Manager Bunny Burke says it will be a kick starter on social media and marketing.  She says social media is great for marketing, advertising your business, making people aware of what you’re doing, it’s an excellent marketing tool so this workshop will cover the best use of that tool in your business and how you can benefit from it.

To register for this workshop you can call the Greenstone office at 204-687-6967.

The Fire Department’s new training manikin is made out of steel, has fire department clothing on and weighs about 200 pounds.  Fire Chief Jim Petrie says the manikin was in Ruth Betts School for two weeks and McIsaac School for two weeks and students entered to name the manikin.  Petrie says they generated a lot of interest from the children and that’s what they really wanted to do is the generate interest from the kids.  He says there’s one saying he’s always used, if you make a friend of a child they will never light your house on fire.

The winning name was Fred entered by Katelin Harmon, a grade three student at McIsaac School.  Harmon not only named the manikin she received a model fire truck as well.  The Fire Department gave the last name McFlame to the manikin.

Flin Flon School Division will again be running their Kindervention program starting in January.  Assistant Superintendent Dean Grove explains it prepares four year olds for school.  He says parents and the kids get a chance to meet with the kindergarten teacher who is one of the people who will be working with the children the following year.  He adds they get to have an orientation into the school and some of the routines and get to know where things are, so they generally come to school in the fall to kindergarten feeling very comfortable because they’ve already done a lot of things and they know the set up.

Registration forms are available at the school offices and must be by November 30th.

The Salvation Army in Flin Flon is accepting applications for Christmas hampers.  Major Debbie Allan says they are taking applications for people in Flin Flon and Creighton in person at the church on Hemlock Drive from today to the 29th between 10 AM and 3 PM.  She adds anyone from the outlying areas can phone during those times.

The number to call is 204-687-7812.

Allan adds they do a test to see if an applicant is eligible but anyone in need can apply for a hamper.

The Manitoba Government is honoring the work of front line health care workers and community groups whose ideas and initiative have improved patient care and inspired healthier life styles.

Among the award winning projects was the launching of a partnership between the Northern Region Health Authority and Speechworks Incorporated to use Telehealth and iPad technology to provide patients living in northern and remote areas of Manitoba access to regular speech pathology services and swallowing assessments after a stroke.

Health Minister Erin Selby says the award winning projects were initiated by staff members and are excellent ways to provided innovative care that will benefit patients and ensure a high quality, sustainable health care system.

The Women’s Resource Center is inviting everyone to be part of Take Back the Night Monday.  Executive Director Colleen Arnold says it’s an annual event to resist violence against women and children.  She explains Take Back the Night is a movement with marches held across the globe which was sparked by the death of Susan Speeth, a Philadelphia woman who was attacked by a stranger when she walked back from work at night.  She says they walk for our sisters, our daughters, our nieces, our mothers and ourselves to show women have the right to walk the streets at night without fear.

The walk begins Monday night at 7 at Pioneer Square.  Walkers will go up Main Street to Angel Avenue and down Hapnot Street back to Pioneer Square.

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization has completed the first phase of preliminary assessment in collaboration with the Town of Creighton and seven others of the 21 communities engaged in learning about Canada’s plan for the safe long-term care of used nuclear fuel.  Creighton is one of four communities identified for further study in the process of identifying a preferred site for a deep geological repository.

Mayor Bruce Fidler says they look forward to continuing in the site selection process into the next phase of work which will involve much more detailed technical and social studies and will see an enhanced level of engagement within their community and with their neighbors.

The Organization notes it is expected to take several more years to complete the necessary studies to identify a preferred site.

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization is recognizing communities involved for their contribution to advancing Canada’s plan for safely managing used nuclear fuel over the long term by providing each community with 400 thousand dollars upon its establishment of a Community Well-Being Reserve Fund.
 

As part of National Addictions Awareness Week a young person is recognized with the Healthy Youth Role Model Award sponsored by CADAC and the Community Youth Resource Center.  CADAC’s Tiffany Ealey says this year’s winner is Curtis Custer from Denare Beach.  She says he is a grade 11 student at Creighton Community School and he’s a positive role model for his peers but also for younger students as well, encouraging them not to use alcohol and drugs.  She adds Curtis also exemplifies that how hard you work truly reflects on what you achieve in life noting he works after school, he works hard to maintain high grades and is just a really positive kid.

Curtis received a gift basket, a 50 dollar gift, a personal plaque and a plaque to hang in his school.

At Tuesday night’s Flin Flon City Council meeting Councilor Colleen McKee reported the Age Friendly Committee met with the RCMP to discuss issues of concern on Main Street such as loitering and panhandling.  She said the RCMP are interested in getting together with community groups to discuss concerns and solutions to the problems.  Council had a brief discussion on whether there is a need for a bylaw to prevent panhandling and will look further into the matter.  McKee also noted people hesitate to call the RCMP when they see unusual activity or crime.  She says the RCMP urge people to call so they can look into incidents and identify problem areas.  She adds by working together in the community we can make a difference.

Also at the meeting Council agreed to make their annual donation to Manitoba Crime Stoppers of ten cents per capita or 563 dollars.

The annual Santa Claus Parade of Lights is being held tomorrow evening sponsored by CFAR and the Reminder.  CFAR Manager Dianne O’Brien says they have at least 10 confirmed entries so far and it starts at six o’clock traveling all the way down Main Street and back on Church Street and everyone’s going to have an opportunity to celebrate Christmas and get into the Christmas spirit.  She says there’s going to be lots of people running up and down the street handing out candy for the kids.  O’Brien adds some merchants couldn’t enter the parade because they’re doing some special things at their store that night so if you’re uptown checking out the parade feel free to go by some stores and see what kind of Christmas specials they have going on.

If you would still like to enter the parade you can contact CFAR or the Reminder.

The Rotary Club of Flin Flon is holding their Seniors Christmas Party Sunday Afternoon.  Chairperson Judy Schmidt says they have a fun afternoon planned.  She says they’ll have a lot of local musicians and they are expecting a lot of Christmas music and a lot of the usual performers that they’ve had in the past so it will be something the seniors will really enjoy.  She adds the event starts at 1:30 and runs to 3:30 but the doors will open a little bit before so people can get settled in.

Schmidt invites all seniors and their spouses to attend the party in the Flin Flon Community Hall.  If you need a ride call Joan at 204-687-4416.

The Manitoba government is increasing support for mining companies and prospectors to stimulate mineral exploration, create more jobs and boost the economy.

The Mineral Exploration Assistance Program that delivers financial assistance for companies carrying out mineral exploration in the province will provide new funding of 3 million dollars in 2014-15, double the 2013-14 levels.  The program provides assistance in the form of a partial refund of approved exploration expenditures.

The Manitoba Prospectors Assistance Program that offers incentives annually to encourage mineral prospecting will provide new funding of 125 thousand dollars in 2014-15. This program provides grants to prospectors exploring their own properties or crown land.

At last night’s Flin Flon City Council meeting Mayor George Fontaine reported the city has a committee that will meet with Creighton and Denare Beach Recreation to discuss cost sharing of all recreation facilities.  He says the city has fixed costs to operate recreation facilities subsidized by taxpayers in Flin Flon to the tune of half a million dollars but they are used by people in the whole area who should be sharing the costs.  Councilor Karen MacKinnon says they will also discuss the use of Creighton and Denare Beach facilities by Flin Flon residents and how these costs can be shared by all users as well.

Also at the meeting Council agreed to donate 500 dollars to Operation Red Nose operated by the Rotary Club to get partiers and their vehicles home safely over the holiday season as well as allowing them to use the city hall board room as their headquarters.

Community Futures Greenstone is holding a video workshop on Thursday morning from 9 to 12.  Manager Bunny Burke says it will help you get started on your business plan.  She says once you’ve determined you want to be an entrepreneur this session will help you in doing up a business plan, it’ll cover the executive summary, the description of the business, your market research, target markets, competitors and how to market the business.

To register for this workshop you can call the Greenstone office at 204-687-6967.

The Women’s Resource Center is hosting a session called Rising Above the Cycle of Abuse on Monday.  The Center’s Colleen Arnold says it will be presented by Connie Lynne who is a single mother of two and she has faced and risen above a wide range of hardships including but not limited to a learning disability, poor self esteem, physical and mental abuse, health issues, uncontrolled weight gain, divorce, rejection and the death of her daughter.  Arnold adds the strength she has gained by facing and working through her struggles has transformed her in unimaginable ways.  She says Lynne recounts her own intimate heartaches and transports you into a world of triumphs and failures.

Rising Above the Cycle of Abuse will be presented Monday from 10 to 3 at the Friendship Center.  To pre-register you can call the Women’s Resource Center at 204-681-3105.

Members of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 73 in Flin Flon have accepted their new slate of officers for next year.

Robert Penner will continue on as President, First Vice-President is Andy Stewart, Second Vice-President Ron Baschuk, Sergeant at Arms John Mensch and two year Executive Members include Isabel Stewart, Perry Burton, Bernie Cluff and Terry Smith.  All positions were filled by acclamation.

The documentary Walking the Camino will be show by the Central Canada Film Group Thursday evening.  The Art Council’s Crystal Kolt says it’s about an ancient walk and it was really used by the Templar Knights as a protective walk to get through Spain and people have used it as pilgrimage walks, some people have used it as a long walk just to get in shape and other people have done it for many reasons.

Kolt says they heard about this documentary’s release and tracked down the producer and arranged for the Canadian premiere of the documentary to be shown by the Central Canada Film Group at the Hapnot Theatre at 7 Thursday evening.  Tickets are ten dollars at the door.  Flin Flonner Julian Kolt who recently took part in the walk and others will be there to discuss the documentary and the walk.

The Flin Flon Community Choir will be performing parts of Handel’s Messiah Saturday evening.  Director Crystal Kolt says this will be a preview before they take the performance to the Lincoln Center in New York in December. She says they’ll be performing primarily the choruses from Messiah in preparation for their trip to New York, so there will be a few of the arias also in there but it’ll be primarily the choruses from the oratorio.

The choir will perform at 7 Saturday evening at St. Ann’s Parish on Center Street.  Tickets are 15 dollars at Northern Rainbow’s End on Main Street.

Community Futures Greenstone is holding a video workshop Wednesday afternoon from 12 to 2.  Manager Bunny Burke says they will look at Working Capital Management and this workshop is going to assist the entrepreneur with managing their cash and help answer the age old question why if their business is making money is there still no money.  She says a lot of that is tied up in accounts receivable, inventory and that type of thing so this workshop will cover how to manage and control it so there is some cash flow at the end of the day.

To register for this video workshop you can call the Greenstone office at 204-687-6967.

To recognize the 80th anniversary of the community and their 30th anniversary the Flin Flon Writers Guild will be publishing a book of work by local writers.  The Guild’s Alex McGilvery says they would like the book to be up to date with who is writing now.  He says they do have some maximums so if you’re writing poetry it is a maximum of six pages of linked poetry not just different poem that you like.  He adds if you’re writing a short story its 12 hundred words and in both poetry and writing you need to send in a 50 work biography so people reading the storey know who you are.

The plan is to have the book ready for the Trout Festival.  To submit a story or poem email thecelticfrog@gmail.com no later than December 31st.

The Saskatchewan Tourism Education Council is holding a Ready to Work tourism career program in Flin Flon, Creighton and Denare Beach.  This is a career awareness, skills development and transition to employment program that assists individuals in finding long term rewarding careers in the tourism sector.  Facilitator Derrick Sych says this is a three month program and in the first six weeks they do basic work skills like communications, team work, attendance, showing up on time at work, stress management, how to get a job and how to keep the job.

Sych adds they are now in the restaurant service part of the course where they learn cooking and are providing meals for various organizations including pasta buffets in the schools last week and this week they have a dinner at Denare Beach to raise money to hire life guards next summer.  He adds once the course is over they follow up with students for close to a year to help with resumes and to be sure they are employed.

Next week is National Addictions Awareness Week and the local committee has several events planned.  The Committee’s Tiffany Ealey explains they kick off the week with a skate on Sunday at the Sportex from 2 to 4, there’s going to be Addictions Jeopardy at the Denareplex on Thursday from 6 to 8, there’s a free swim at the Aqua Center on Friday the 22nd from 6:30 to 8 pm and the Kinettes are holding a movie night on Saturday the 23rd.

They will also have place mats at local restaurants, the presentation of the Healthy Youth Role Model Award, displays around town and a contest on CFAR.

Community Futures Greenstone is holding a video workshop Tuesday afternoon from 1 to 3 to answer the question am I ready for self employment.  Manager Bunny Burke says it’s a good workshop for people considering going into business for themselves.  She says it helps them to examine their personal commitment, what it involves to be an entrepreneur, the time factor, how it involves the rest of your family, an overview of small business in the country and learning about the resources that can help you to start a business.

To register for this free workshop you can call the Greenstone office at 204-687-6967.

District 64 of Toastmasters is celebrating the 52nd anniversary of Toastmasters in Manitoba during their fall conference in Winnipeg tomorrow. Flin Flon Toastmasters will be represented by their President Dorion Kent at the conference.  Harry Hobbs formed the Flin Flon Toastmasters Club which is part of Area 33 that includes Gillam to The Pas and one club from Winnipeg.  Hobbs says Flin Flon has a strong club.  He says they have had their charter now for 35 years, they’ve been a very active and healthy club, they currently have 13 members and in the last two years they’ve been a President’s Distinguished Club.

District 64 was formed in 1961 and currently has more than 15 hundred members in 106 clubs across Manitoba and Northwest Ontario.

The Christmas season arrived on Main Street last evening with the lighting of the Christmas tree in Pioneer Square.  As they prepared for the lighting Mayor George Fontaine said it’s time for everybody to be thinking about the family time that they’re going to have because the nicest time of the year is when you do all get together.  He says noted there was a nice crowd and the Community Choir was ready to sing some carols so he thinks it’s the beginning of the warm cold season.

A good crowd was on hand for the tree lighting enjoying carols, cookies, hot chocolate and a visit from Santa.

Flin Flon MLA Clarence Pettersen says there were some important issues for our area in this weeks Manitoba throne speech.  He says obviously they mentioned doing the highway from Bakers Narrows into town but something very important came up and that was the 23 million dollars they are going to spend on the residence in Cranberry Portage at the high school there which is very important for the north in giving students from all over the north the opportunity to come to Cranberry to get their education.

Pettersen says the emphasis in the speech was on jobs and the economy adding there will be ongoing road maintenance and jobs in the north and they are working with municipalities on how they are going to spend the money from the sales tax increase.

The Flin Flon Ski Club is holding their annual open house Sunday.  The Club’s Dave Price says it’s a chance for people to learn more about what’s available for skiers.  He says they’ll be telling people all about their programs and their fantastic trails that are just on the edge of town and hopefully encouraging people to take up this very fun healthy winter time activity.  He adds they can purchase their dues at ten percent off on that day if they like and they can also sign their kids up for the jackrabbit program and other junior programs that they’ve got.

The Ski Club open house runs from 11 to 4 Sunday at the Ski Chalet.

Next week is the week to turn in filled shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child.  Local Coordinator Heather French says you can drop boxes off at Pharmasave until the 24th and at the Baptist Church next week.  She says they will be at the church from Tuesday to Friday from 5 to 8 in the evening, Saturday the 23rd from 1 to 5 and on Sunday the 24th at 7 pm they will have the final gathering with a video presentation and final count of the boxes.

French says you can still pick up boxes to fill with items to be delivered to children in countries where there is war, natural disasters and famine.  The boxes are available at Pharmasave, the Baptist Church, the Dollar Store or call Heather at 204-687-6343.

Principal Brent Bedford and Vice-Principal Patty Korchinksi reviewed the five goals that include plans to have ninety-five percent of students achieving one years growth in literacy and numeracy.  Strategies are in place to reduce the number of incidents of bullying in the school.  A student engagement officer has been hired as part of plans to improve attendance by next June.  The focused program will continue at Hapnot working with students struggling with attendance, behavior and academic issues.  Finally plans are in the works to get all students involved in at least one extra curricular activity during the school year.

In other news the Minister of Education has proclaimed November 17th to 20th as Bullying Awareness Week.  Several activities are planned in the schools to raise awareness.

At Ruth Betts School the attendance rate for September was 96 percent.  Parents are reminded to talk to their children about the importance of going to class every day.

Hudbay President David Garofalo reports they continue to make steady progress to obtaining their ambitious growth objectives including their two developing mines near Snow Lake. He says at their 100 percent owned Lalor Mine in Manitoba sinking of the main production shaft is substantially complete.  They’ve constructed the station development at the 955 meter level and have reached the shaft bottom access on the 985 meter level.  He adds at their 70 percent owned Reed Copper mine in Manitoba they have received the Environment Act Licence from the provincial government and have commenced initial production on time and on budget.

Garofalo also noted 2014 marks the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the original Flin Flon mine.  He says they are proud of the employees, contractors and communities that have been a part of their operation over the years.

At their annual meeting yesterday members of the Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce accepted their new slate of officers.  Tom Therien was sworn in to a two year term as President noting he would like to see membership grow and increase its voice. He says they need to become a very vocal voice for the business community within our community, with our surrounding communities and also in the province of Manitoba and Saskatchewan.  He adds they need to make sure that Flin Flon, Creighton and Denare Beach stay in the forefront and we’re not ignored and we do have a voice and if that voice is heard then the confidence level comes back up.

Past President Kory Eastman said he is proud of the efforts made to engage businesses in our community over his term adding a strong and financially viable chamber is needed to act as a voice and a champion of local businesses.

President elect is Dianne O’Brien, Vice-Presidents Maureen Kozar and Mary Dwernichuk with one vacancy. Treasurer is Bunny Burke, Secretary Doug O’Brien and there are seven Directors.

Flin Flon’s Christmas tree will be officially lit up for the holiday season tomorrow evening.  Recreation Manager Mike Dubreuil invites everyone to this celebration where they’ll have some hot chocolate, cookies and the Flin Flon choir will do some caroling.  He says it’s an opportunity to have a small city community event where people can come out and enjoy the community, the caroling and start the kick off to the holiday season.

The tree lighting takes place tomorrow evening from 6 to 7 at Pioneer Square on Main Street.

This month is National Domestic Violence Prevention Month and the Women’s Resource Center’s Colleen Arnold says they have displays with information boards and ribbons all over Flin Flon and Creighton.  She says they ask people to show their support and awareness of this campaign by wearing a purple ribbon.  She adds on November 25th they will be holding Take Back the Night and it’s held on that date as it marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the first day of the 16 days of activism against gender violence.

Arnold notes they have submitted stories to the Reminder and will hold presentations in the schools.

Community Futures Greenstone is holding a video workshop tomorrow afternoon.  Manager Bunny Burke says tomorrow from 1:30 to 3 they will look at Personal and Business Finance, Budgeting for Success.  She says the session will cover how to develop a personal budget and why is that important, determining your personal requirements and how the business will deliver on that and delivering the business cash flow budget.  She adds it’s a perfect workshop for young folks just learning how to budget whether it’s for themselves or for business.

To register for this free workshop you can call the Greenstone office at 204-687-6967.

Hudbay President David Garofalo says although total revenue for the third quarter of 2013 was 14.4 million dollars lower than the same period last year profits were up.  He reports during the third quarter they recorded a profit of approximately 3 million dollars compared to a loss of 5.4 million for the same period last year. He adds the increased profit was primarily the result of higher foreign exchange gains and lower tax expense partially offset by lower revenue as the result of lower volumes and prices.  Garofalo says with two quarters of commercial production for the first phase of Lalor behind them they expect to see a continuation of the trend of improved tax flow over the next year as they commission the main shaft and Reed continues its ramp up.

Garofalo adds in the quarter production at Hudbay’s Manitoba Business Unit was 29 percent higher than the previous years third quarter as a result of a full quarter of production at Lalor, additional production from Triple Seven and production commencing at Reed Lake.

First Nations leadership will have a key role in a new Mining Advisory Council along with industry representatives and the Government of Manitoba to ensure First Nations communities benefit from the development of new mines.

Mineral Resources Minister Dave Chomiak says there will be new training opportunities, good jobs, revenue sharing and a range of social and economic benefits for First Nations.

The Council will be co-chaired by Chief Ron Evans of Norway House Cree Nation and Chief Donovan Fontaine of the Sagkeeng First Nation.  Also among the thirteen members of the Council are Tom Goodman who is retired from Hudbay, Brad Lantz who is Vice-President of the Manitoba Business Unit for Hudbay and Chief Andrew Colomb of the Marcel Colomb First Nation.

 Members of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 73 in Flin Flon held their annual Remembrance banquet Saturday night.  Guest Speaker Father Paul Bringleson spoke on the men and women who stood to recognize the importance of life, dignity and the freedom we believe in. He said we are reminded in our fallen comrades that in every moment, at every step of life’s journey we are continuously being asked to give something, not to ourselves but to someone else, to a belief, to a purpose, to a will, to a desire, to a love, to a country.

Bringleson says we should be sharing the stories we remember on this occasion so others will be able to see what we value and make it their own so they will never be forgotten.

Service awards were presented with the top award of 60 years going to Anthony Woroniuk.

CFAR and the Reminder are encouraging anyone interested to take part in the annual Santa Claus Parade of Lights to be held November 22nd.  CFAR Manager Dianne O’Brien reminds you now is the time to enter.  She says they are looking for businesses, groups or organizations in the community who’d like to decorate a float.  She says decorating a float for this parade is easier than it seems as you just get a converter and put lights all over your vehicle as it’s not a regular float, its light up your vehicle for Christmas.

The parade will travel down Main Street and up Church Street starting at 6 Friday, November 22nd.  You can register to be part of the parade at www.flinflononline.com, CFAR or the Reminder.

Hudbay has reached an agreement to sell its 51 percent interest in the Back Forty Project in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to its joint venture partner Aquila Resources.  Upon completion of the transaction, Hudbay will receive common shares of Aquila, milestone payments tied to the development of the Back Forty Project and a net smelter return royalty on a portion of the Back Forty property.  Completion of the transaction is conditional upon the completion of a business combination transaction between Aquila and REBgold Corporation, and equity financing by REBgold and other customary conditions.

Hudbay may in the future increase or decrease its ownership of securities of Aquila from time to time depending upon the business and prospects of Aquila, future market conditions and Hudbay’s investment objectives.

Flin Flon’s Anglican parish is again offering memory candles for the holiday season.  The committee’s Yvonne Fawcett explains the candles appear in the community just before Christmas.  She says this is the 8th year the Memory Candles have been sold prior to Christmas and their purpose it to remember loved ones who have gone before us prior to the busy Christmas season. She adds they place them in cemeteries in Flin Flon, Creighton and Denare Beach or you can take your candles home and light them whenever you want.

The candles will be lit on Sunday, November 24th and Fawcett says the best time for viewing is at dusk.

The candles are ten dollars and will be available at the Arts Council Arts and Crafts Sale at the Community Hall or the Anglican Church Craft Sale tomorrow or order at Ormistons, the Big Dipper and Northern Rainbows End on Main Street or the Flower Bar on Third Avenue.

Remembrance Day will get underway in Flin Flon Monday morning with the annual parade and service.  Poppy Committee Co-chair for the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 73 Bunny Burke encourages members and others to meet at the Legion by 10:15 when the parade will move out, go down Hapnot Street and up round the Cenotaph and on to the Community Hall where the service will be held.  She encourages people to join in the parade by coming to the Legion and then following the service to return to the Legion for a light lunch and refreshments.                                

The Sergeant at Arms is John Muench and the Parade Marshall is Morley Naylor.

The service begins at 10:45 at the Community Hall and will be broadcast of CFAR.

The Flin Flon Arts Council will be giving you a last chance to take advantage of their 5 for 75 package.  The Council’s Crystal Kolt says you can purchase a pass for 75 dollars. She says people get to use these passes for five shows throughout the year as part of their regular season package.  She says the next coming shows are the Fllin Flon Community Choir’s Messiah before they head for New York and following that is Ham Sandwich’s Dickens A Christmas Carol in December.

The passes will be available for the final time at the Arts Council’s Arts and Crafts sale tomorrow from 10 to 4 at the Flin Flon Community Center.

The Flin Flon Art Council is holding their 33rd annual Arts and Crafts Sale Saturday.  Their Coordinator Crystal Kolt says they have 70 tables with some past and some new ideas.  She says they have Glenn Scrimshaw back, Tasty Tidbits, jams, jellies, Christmas decorations, fine arts but also in addition to all the vendors that will be there they are transforming their stage into a Winter Wonderland.  She says people will be able to come with their kids for photos with Santa Claus between 12 and 1 and 2 to 3.

Kolt adds a child care service will also be available in the Green Room.

The sale runs from 10 to 4 Saturday in the Flin Flon Community Center with lunch available in the Seniors Room.

The Northminister Memorial United Church is holding a coffee house at 7 Friday night.  Reverend Alex McGilvery says they have a great line up of entertainment including Brent and Susan Lethbridge, Curtis Trubiak, Braden Buhler, Katie Stevens and Nicole Storey who will be singing and they’ll have coffee, tea and cookies.

A silver collection will be taken at the door with the money going to the Cenotaph restoration project.

City Council has renewed their membership in the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.  A letter from the Federation notes the city receives exceptional value from FCM driven programs receiving an estimated 320 thousand dollars from the Gas Tax Fund program this year.  It also mentions municipalities receiving GST rebates and new federal programs to provide municipalities with additional infrastructure funding.

Council also received a letter from the Flin Flon Sexual Exploitation of Youth Committee whose goal includes public awareness and prevention to address the issues of sexual exploitation in any or all its forms regionally and provincially.

They note one of the new initiatives they are focusing on is a safe taxi bylaw in which they propose that taxi drivers not only agree to a criminal records check when applying for their license but also a criminal records including vulnerable sector check, child abuse registry check and an adult abuse registry check.  These bylaws were passed in Thompson and Winnipeg. The request will be reviewed by Council.

At their meeting last night Flin Flon City Council approved the recreation fee schedule for 2014 for recreation facilities other than the Whitney Forum which is handled separately. The main increases are Community Hall rentals up 4 percent and rental for offices in the building up 3 percent.  There are smaller increases for ball diamonds, Camp Whitney and the Aqua Center.

In other business Council received a letter and petition from 15 resident of the 300 block of Parkway Boulevard with concerns relating to the possibility of 14 new Manitoba Housing units being added to the Aspen Grove area.  Their concerns centered around the already over stressed sewer system, heavy rain affecting the apartment area, children need the grassy play area and already huge traffic congestion problems during the school year. They feel it is not in the best interests of the Manitoba Government and the City to build extra units in an area where it would be adding more stress to an already over stressed sewer system and possibly causing more problems and expenses for both levels of government in the future.

Hudbay has entered into an amended precious metals stream agreement with Silver Wheaton Corporation pursuant to which Hudbay will receive an additional 135 million dollar deposit against delivery of 50 percent of payable gold from the Constancia project in Peru under spelled out conditions.

In August last year Hudbay entered into the initial precious metals stream transaction with Silver Wheaton providing for upfront deposit payments of 750 million dollars in respect of 100 percent of payable gold and silver from Hudbay’s Triple Seven mine until the later of December 31st, 2016 and satisfaction of a completed test at Constancia, following which the obligation to deliver gold will be reduced to 50 percent of payable gold and 100 percent payable silver from Constancia under spelled out condtions.

Hudbay President David Garofalo says this stream transaction provides them with additional, non-dilutive capital as they continue development of  Constancia and the Lalor project near Snow Lake.

Flin Flon School Division Grade nine students are taking part in Take Our Kids to Work day today.  Hapnot Collegiate Counselor Sandra Garinger says 50 students are going to work with their parents. She says the idea was started by an organization called The Learning Partnership and it was designed as an opportunity for students to go out and get a chance to see what type of work is out there, mainly what their parents are doing. She says they see things at home but they don’t always know what’s going on in the other part of their parent’s lives so it’s a chance for them to go out and also get a chance to see that some options are for their future plans.

Take our Kids to Work day is a national program in its 19th year sponsored by the Learning Partnership.

The Northern Health Region is conducting an Emergency Room Review Survey.  Communications Coordinator Glenn Hildebrand says conducting an independent review of the Flin Flon and The Pas emergency departments was a recommendation from the review conducted by Manitoba Health a few years ago and the goal of the review is to develop an action plan to improve the service they provide in these emergency departments.  He adds as part of the independent review that they’ve ordered they decided to add a public consultation component in the form of an online survey.  He says it’s a way for the public to become involved in a focused way and provide information for the reviewers.

The survey is open until midnight November 15th and a summary of the results will be provided to the reviewers.

Hildebrand says the review should be completed by the end of the year and will be made public and the Health Region will begin acting on the recommendations without delay.

To fill out the survey go to their website www.northernhealthregion.ca.

Thirty students and five teachers from Creighton Community School are leaving today to join tens of thousands of other students and teachers in Saskatoon to celebrate We Day which brings youth together to show them they are not alone in their journey to make a difference. The school’s Stacy Becker says the students are really looking forward to the event. She says We Day is a day that’s put on by Free the Children and you cannot buy a ticket you have to earn it and usually that’s through different actions.  She says for example last year as part of their global action they did a walk for water where they collected pledges and the kids walked from Denare Beach to the Rotary Wheel raising over three thousand dollars with that initiative.

The celebration will include NBA legend Magic Johnson, Martin Luther King the third and numerous recording stars, actors and guest speakers.  It provides schools with curricular resources, campaigns and material to help turn the day’s inspiration into sustained action.

VMS Ventures reports development continues on time and within budget at the Reed Lake mine near Snow Lake in which they hold 30 percent interest and Hudbay 70 percent as the operator.

VMS says Hudbay has competed just over 15 hundred meters of lateral development on the project by the end of September and the first Reed ore batch tested was processed at Hudbay’s Flin Flon mill in September.

The underground powder and cap magazines have been competed as well as the wash bay and the refuge stations.  A new production drill was received and the camp in now finalized for the crews.

They add full production remains on schedule to commence by the second quarter of 2014 and the project remains within the estimated budget parameters.

Flin Flon Fire Chief Jim Petrie says the Fire Department has a new training manikin and they need help finding a name. He says the manikin is made out of steel and he’s got fire department clothing on and weighs around 200 pounds.  Petrie says he is now in Ruth Betts School for two weeks and then they’ll have him in McIsaac for two weeks and they’d like the children to name this new training manikin.

Petrie adds an entry will be drawn out of a drum and that child will get to name the manikin and will receive a surprise prize as well.

After a busy summer plans are underway for further improvements to Pioneer Square on Main Street.  The committee’s Dave Kendall explains next year they are looking at a little more lighting and maybe another camera or two on the location but they are also looking for any ideas that people might have if they think there are some specific things that should be done for the park.

To share your ideas for Pioneer Square you can call committee members Dave Kendall, Leslie Beck, Cheryl Hordal, Frank Feiber, LaVerne Hinzman or Glenna Daschuk.

Reverend Alex McGilvery will be doing a community presentation Monday evening on Creating Non-Bullying Communities. He says it’s a presentation he developed for summer camps to address the issue of bullying and it centers around creating healthy communities particularly around a welcoming community that welcomes everybody and recognizes the strengths in diversity, helps build relationships between all the different people and develops courage so that people can challenge each other in a healthy way in the community.  He says in doing this we reduce the need for bullying because everybody’s involved, there’s no bystanders, there’s no victims, there’s no bullies there’s just members of the community.

The presentation is open to all interested at 7 Monday evening at the Northminster Memorial United Church at 250 Bracken Street.

As you turn back your clocks to standard time this weekend, the Flin Flon Fire Department wants you to also think about fire safety.  Fire Chief Jim Petrie says start with your smoke detectors.  He says smoke detectors in the home are an early warning of a possible fire so that your can get out of bed, go outside, meet at your meeting place and be safe.  He says every floor in the home should have a smoke detector, especially outside the bedrooms and they should be checked at least once a year and the batteries changed every year at this time of year.

Petrie also reminds you to create and practice a home escape plan and make sure your chimney is clean.

The Manitoba government is providing funding to upgrade skills training equipment across the province to prepare young Manitobans for job opportunities and help businesses meet the growing demand for skilled workers.

Frontier Collegiate Institute in Cranberry Portage will receive 22,783 dollars for a Briggs and Stratton engine training system, plasma cutter, wash tank and welders.

Premier Greg Sellinger says their Skills Build program is giving students the opportunity to begin a rewarding career path earlier than ever.  He says by training on the same equipment used by industry young Manitobans will be able to land good jobs and apprenticeships right out of school and right here at home.