The Christmas Gift Program run by the Flin Flon Friendship Center went well again this year.  The program allows parents to give their children a gift at Christmas time when circumstances prevent them from doing so.  The Center’s Program Events Coordinator Jeremiah Herrmann says it was a great success.  He says they had 101 families register for the program which turned out to be 379 children who got a gift under the tree Christmas morning.  He also thanks everybody who donated this year to make the Christmas gift program a success as well as their new partnership with the Salvation Army.

This was the 22^nd year for the Christmas Gift Program.

It’s time to pack up your Christmas items.  The Flin Flon Recycling Center’s Administrator Deb Odegaard reminds you there are some items they can’t take.  She explains they can take all the usual stuff that comes out of gift giving but they can’t take the gift wrap or the ribbons.  She says they do recycle Christmas cards and envelopes as long as they don’t have any foil in them, so it’s no gift wrap, ribbons, Christmas decorations and that kind of thing.

Odegaard also reminds you the Recycling Center will be closed tomorrow for New Year’s Day and all curbside pick up in Creighton will be done today.  She also reminds you the City has announced the landfill hours have changed.  The landfill is now open from 9 am to 4:45 pm Monday to Saturday with Sunday hours remaining noon to 4.

The Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce and Manitoba Hydro sponsored a Your Business Shines contest this year.    Chamber President Dianne Russell says this contest follows up on their Light Up in the Spirit of Christmas contest they have sponsored in the past. She explains this year the Special event Committee changed it into something where they’re focusing on the businesses both at Christmas time and what that business does throughout the year and people were able to vote on it and this year the business or organization that was the recipient of their award and the prize from Manitoba Hydro was the Flin Flon Public Library.

  The categories considered were spirit of giving, community involvement and creative Christmas decorating.

  The library received a Noma lighted lamp post and lighted gift boxes. Honorable mention went to Northern Rainbows End, Community Futures Greenstone, Flin Flon Museum and the Town of Creighton.

Library's Aimee Best, Cindy McLean, Tara Redahl, Back Dianne Russell

Salvation Army Major Debbie Allen reports they again had a successful Christmas kettle and hamper program in the Flin Flon area.  She says they gave out 160 hampers that cost them about 11 thousand dollars.  She adds they raised 15 thousand 322 dollars on the Christmas kettles plus she has about 5 to 6 thousand dollars in cheques she hasn’t deposited yet.

Major Allen says 11 thousand dollars will cover the cost of the hampers and they have 10 thousand left to operate the rest of the year with their soup days and other programs.

 The Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority has announced more than 700 groups and organizations focused on strengthening Saskatchewan communities are receiving approximately 1.3 million dollars from their charitable gaming grant program.

Organizations in Creighton receive a total of 15,693 dollars with 248 dollars going to the Creighton Community Center, 10,977 to the Creighton Lodge Trust and 4468 to the Flin Flon Motorcyclists Association. In Denare Beach their Recreation Board receives just over 54 dollars.

These quarterly grants area based on a percentage of net proceeds raised through licensed charitable gaming activities such as bingos, raffles and break open tickets.  Charitable gaming reports submitted by groups are used by the Authority to automatically calculate grant amounts.

The Northern Manitoba Mining Academy in Flin Flon is offering a prospecting course.  They say the day of the individual prospector walking and exploring the land with a rock hammer, map, hand lens and compass is not at an end as there are many ore bodies still waiting to be discovered by simple prospecting methods.  With that in mind the Academy’s Administrative Officer Elizabeth Andres says they are offering a two certificate program from UCN and the first one is Wilderness Safety Training which is a three week course and it prepares a student to be safe in the wilderness so that when they actually take the prospecting course they’re not going to hurt themselves.  She says the second portion would be the prospecting training and together the two programs become Introduction to Prospecting.

The course will run at the Academy from January 11^th to March 4^th.  You can get more information by contacting the Academy at 2 Hart Avenue, phone 204-687-7038 or email NMMA@UCN.ca.

In her holiday message Manitoba Lieutenant Governor Janice Filmon invites all Manitobans to attend a New Year’s levee.  She will be hosting her first traditional New Year’s public levee since being installed as the province’s 25^th Lieutenant Governor last June.  It is being held at the Manitoba Legislative building on Friday, January 1^st between 2:30 and 4 pm.

Filmon says it will be a pleasure to meet Manitobans who have given their time and energy to make our province great.  She wishes all citizens good health and time to experience peace, joy and love.

 In his annual Christmas message Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger wishes that the spirit of the season brings you closer to family, friends and neighbors and may we all take a moment during this special time of the year to reflect on the many things that make Manitoba such a wonderful place to live, work and raise our families. He adds on behalf of the province happy holidays to you and your family and all the best in the New Year.

In his first Christmas message as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asks us to share the Christmas spirit.  He says we often celebrate this time of year by showing our generosity to family and friends and he trusts that we will do the same with the thousands of people who are experiencing the Canadian holidays and the Canadian winter for the first time, the Syrian refugees.  He adds after all we share values of love, hope and compassion, it’s what we do and it’s who we are.  He also suggests we take time to remember the brave women and men of the Canadian Armed Force who cannot be with their families adding we appreciate these sacrifices for our county, not just today but every day.

Trudeau wishes all health and happiness in 2016.

 In her annual Christmas message Saskatchewan Lieutenant Governor Vaughn Solomon Schofield speaks about hope and gratitude.  She says this Christmas she is grateful for the Canadian men and women in uniform thanking the Canadian Armed Forces, our police officers, fire fighters and paramedics for the sacrifices they make to serve.  She says she is fortunate to take part in hundreds of events each year across Saskatchewan which is a constant reminder of their greatest strength, their innovative, compassionate and generous people.  She says she is grateful to everyone who gives their time to provide leadership to local organizations and to support community events and initiatives adding truly you are what make the province and our nation great.

Schofield wishes you happiness and good health throughout the coming year.

In his annual Christmas message Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall speaks about those involved in the province’s largest evacuation ever during the summer forest fires. He says we are privileged to live in a province where people come together which can be difficult when stress levels are high.  He salutes the evacuees, the fire fighters, the troops, the Red Cross and the local officials, the mayors and the chiefs as well as those who shared money, food and supplies and those who prayed for an ending to this situation adding all rose to the occasion.

Wall wishes everyone the gladness of Christmas which is hope, the spirit of Christmas which is peace and the heart of Christmas which is love.

Judging for the Village of Lights took place on Friday.  The judge toured Denare Beach Friday evening to judge the Christmas lights and displays that had been put up.  The winners were first Bill and Laurie Wasyliuk of 212 Cressey Drive, second Brad and Carol Gilmore and third Cindy and Kevin Pedwell of 109 Bayview Place.

   This year’s contest was sponsored by the Village Council, Rockyview Lodge and Beach Towing.

Flin Flon’s Recycling Center will be taking some time off over the holidays.  Their Administrator Deb Odegaard explains they will be closed on Christmas day and they are closing as well on Monday the 28^th for Boxing Day but there will be somebody there for a few hours on the weekend to keep the dock clear.  She says the landfill will be closed Friday and Saturday and then for New Years the Center will be closed on Friday the first.

Odergaard adds they cannot recycle the gift wrap, ribbons or decorations but they can take the cards and envelopes only if they don’t have foil in them.  She also reminds you the City has announced the landfill hours have changed.  It will be open from 9 am to 4:45 pm until the end of January.

The Flin Flon Rotary Club will be sponsoring an air show at the Flin Flon Airport on Wednesday, July 13^th.  The Club’s Bill Jackson says it will feature the Canadian Forces Snowbirds as well as the CF-18 demonstration team.  He says the Club is always open to new ideas like the fishing derby and lobster night and the idea of hosting the Snowbirds came up and they applied over a year ago.  He says they’re really thrilled to announce them coming here and he adds to make it a little more special this is the only stop the Snowbirds are going to make in Manitoba.

  Jackson says the proceeds will be put towards the new emergency ward at the General Hospital.  He adds the Rotary Club gratefully acknowledges the support of the City of Flin Fon, Mayor and Council and the staff and management at the airport as without their assistance the show would not be taking place.

 Operation Red Nose had a 4^th successful weekend of getting people and their vehicles home safely.  The Rotary Club’s committee chair Ted Hewitt says this past weekend was another good one for their service.  He reports between Friday and Saturday nights they provided a total of 43 rides and the roads were good, the weather was good so the volunteers has a good time.  He says on Friday night they had volunteers from the Steelworkers and on Saturday night they had volunteers from the Hudbay staff.

Operation Red Nose will not be available this Friday and Saturday as its Christmas and Boxing Days but will be back for New Years Eve.  Hewitt says they still need two or three teams for New Years Eve so if you can volunteer to help out go to their website www.operationrednose.com or call Ted at 204-687-7450.

 Callinex Mines has received permits for the upcoming winter drilling program at their Pine Bay and Flin Flon projects located near Hudbay’s Triple Seven mine and processing facilities in Flin Flon.  It is anticipated the winter drilling program will start in mid-January.

Callinex says a primary objective of the 2016 campaign is to follow up on the discovery made during this year’s exploration campaign at the Sourdough Bay area of the Pine Bay Project.  Additionally a number of drill holes are planned with the objective to identify additional high grade VMS mineralization rich in copper, zinc, gold and silver that have potential to be associated with a large deposit.  The Company plans to test eight areas at the Pine Bay project as part of a previously announced 10 thousand meter drilling campaign for 2016.

 Troymet Exploration is following up on new targets at its McClarty Lake VMS project 47 kilometers southwest of Snow Lake. They report that earlier this year Hudbay as a Joint Venture Operator completed a compilation and review of all the technical data for the joint venture claims. This work resulted in the identification of new targets and the subsequent staking of three new mineral claims which are now included in the joint venture.

Hudbay had planned to conduct ground geophysical surveys over the newly identified exploration targets last spring but the work had to be deferred due to poor ice conditions.  Troyment has been advised by Hudbay that they still plan to conduct the ground geophysical surveys once ice conditions permit.

 Flin Flon’s Sophia Rowe received an unusual message when she checked her lucky lines multiplier scratch n’ win ticket. When the store clerk scanned it the scanner said do not tear ticket.  That’s when she learned she had won 75 thousand dollars.

Rowe says was really surprised and went into shock but noted the clerk was more visibly excited that she was.  Rowe and her husband are planning to use the winnings to pay off the retirement home they just finished building in Newfoundland.

She purchased her winning scratch n’ win ticket at the Creighton Super Store.

A member of CASARA or Civil Air Search and Rescue Association Myrna Guymer says the group is in need of more volunteers so search teams can react quickly and save lives. She says they offer a great training program where you can learn how to be part of a team that can rescue people lost in the bush, airplane crashes, boat accidents and vehicles that get lost and you learn how to spot from the air any accident or any person lost.

Guymer says you can also get a radio operators licence and learn navigation and survival skills. She adds they need a good base of people who can be called when someone is lost and a search is being launched.  If you are interested you can call Gerry Angell at Denare Beach or Stewart Graham or Butch Lekopoy in Flin Flon.

 The Norva Center’s Manager Mike Spencer says the Center is featuring a display of art work from the Reminders kid’s art contest.  He says he went down to the Reminder office and they went through all their submissions that included a lot of great work this year and so there’s be some choice pieces from that contest hanging up at the Norva Center until the new year.             

You’re invited to attend a reception to recognize the exhibit at the Norva Center Tuesday from 4 to 6.

World Vision Canada is urging you the join other Flin Flon residents in giving a gift from their gift catalogue.  Their Regional Rep for Manitoba Chris Schroeder says gifts can range from livestock to clean water to medical supplies for families in developing countries noting he has visited a community that received six goats from Canadians who responded to their gift catalogue and these six goats became twelve becoming 24 supporting more families.  He says they were able to use the natural droppings from the goats to increase their yield on their crops, purchase sewing machines so they can make their own clothes and he’s just received word that that project he visited now no longer needs World Vision because they’re self-sustaining.

Schroeder adds last year nine people in Flin Flon gave just under 12 hundred dollars worth of life changing items from the gift catalogue.  You can learn more at www.worldvision.ca/gifts.

The Salvation Army has set up an Angel Tree in Walmart in Flin Flon to help collect toys for the Friendship Center’s Christmas gift program.  Major Debbie Allen explains all you have to do is take a card from the tree and decide which child, a boy or girl, you’ll buy for, purchase the item, put the tag on it, give it to the staff at the courtesy desk and they will leave it for her to come and pick it up.

The Angel Tree will be in Walmart until Christmas Eve.

Residents of Denare Beach are again urged to be part of the Village of Lights by putting up Christmas lights.  One of the organizers Maureen McBratney says this is the seventh year for the event.  She explains they’re just a small community and that’s why they’re called a village so they named their contest Village of Lights.  She says they ask everybody to throw up a string of lights, decorate your yard, your garage, the boat in the side of the yard to get into the spirit of things and light up the evenings out there during the holiday season.

The event is sponsored this year by the Village Council, Rockyview Lodge and Beach Towing.  Make sure your lights are on as judging will take place after dark tomorrow night.

The Flin Flon Cranberry Portage Folk Music Society is featuring Red Moon Road from Winnipeg Saturday night.  The Society’s Mike Spencer says it will be a night of great music.  He explains they are a young folk trio with some fantastic songs and their latest album that they’re touring in support of right now is actually featured as number one on the national folk group music charts.  He adds they’re really taking off so it will be an exciting show.

  Red Moon Road performs at Johnny’s Social Club Saturday night starting at 7.  Tickets are available at the Orange Toad.

 A last minute Christmas craft and home business sale is being held tomorrow and Saturday.  Organizer Rikki Petersen says there will be a great variety of merchants on hand.  She says there’s all sort of vendors from jams, home crafts, home businesses, baking and all sorts of stuff and it’s Friday from 4 to 8 and Saturday from 10 to 4.

Petersen says there will be about 50 tables at the sale being held in the building next to Pharmasave on Main Street.

 Manitoba Health Minister Sharon Blady has announced a number of projects to maintain and improve health care facilities throughout the Northern Health Region will soon be underway. For the Flin Flon General Hospital she announced there will be flooring, ceiling system and lighting replacement, carpet removal, terrazzo floor restoration and a water filtration system as well as tub replacement at the Flin Flon Personal Care Home.

The Region’s Chief Executive Officer Helga Bryant says they welcome these investments which provide the ability to maintain their facilities so they can continue to provide quality, accessible health services to the residents of the north.

Blady says work is expected to be completed in the next two years.

Tourism Manitoba has released its list of the best places to eat and drink in the province this winter.  The Orange Toad in Flin Flon has made the list with their Social Media Specialist Kirsten Neil calling it a homey coffee shop that is a bustling café as well as a used book store where you can sit, relax and read quietly.  She explains when she was in Flin Flon last spring as she was getting a tour of the community she was taken to the Orange Toad for a break.  She says it’s a wonderful little place, it’s very homey, everybody seems very friendly and she believes the man in line behind her, whose name she can’t remember, paid for their drinks which was even more wonderful.

You can find the list at www.manitobahot.com. Flin Flon has been popular with Tourism Manitoba with our statue of Flinty winning the top road side attraction award during the summer.  Flinty was also included in the top ten Halloween costumes originating in Manitoba.

CIty Hall Christmas Tree

 At the Flin Flon City Council meeting last night Mayor Cal Huntley wished all a safe and Merry Christmas on behalf of council, management and city employees.  He said the best Christmas is having your family home safely with you for the season.  He added with the heavy drop of snow and warm temperatures roads and highways are a mess so drive carefully.

In business council passed a change to the bylaw for standards for residential properties changing the reference from dwelling to buildings to expand the types of structures it covers.  Councilor Colleen McKee reports she is part of the Manitoba Agriculture Food and Rural Economic Development pilot project and will report to council on its activities.

When asked to comment on reports on the future of the Triple Seven Mine Mayor Huntley said Hudbay has closed major mines in this area before.  He said Triple Seven has a life of four to five years depending on metal prices but he believes there could be another mine but that would take time to develop.  He says meanwhile Snow Lake continues to feed ore to the plant here.  He says they may have to deal with a shift in population and that’s something they’ll have to consider as they move forward.

A lot of appointments have been booked and gifts are now being picked up until December 24^th in a Christmas gift program. The program allows parents to give their children a gift at Christmas when circumstances prevent them from doing so.  The Friendship Center’s Events Coordinator Jeremiah Herrmann says donations have been going well and appointments are filling up with people coming in starting today to pick out a gift for their child.  He says he’s going to be accepting registrations throughout the whole program so in the event that you don’t get registered you can come in on the 24^th when they’re open until 3 o’clock and you might have to wait for a couple of minutes but they will try to get to you so you can have a gift under the tree.

Gifts can still be donated at the Friendship Center until the 24^th.  This is the 22^nd year for the gift program.

The Ruth Betts School Parent Council is putting together their annual Christmas grotto.  The Council’s Christa McIntyre says the grotto will be open for students to shop on Thursday.  She explains the Christmas grotto is open to all students who attend Ruth Betts School and it’s an opportunity for them to purchase new or gently used items to be used as Christmas presents for their family and friends.  She says they purchase those items at really low cost and all items are donated from the community so they thank the community for all the donations that are given to the school.

McIntyre adds if you wish to donate to the Christmas grotto, new or gently used gifts, wrapping paper and gift bags can be dropped off at Ruth Betts School until 4 o’clock tomorrow.

 Operation Red Nose completed its third weekend of getting people and their vehicles home safely in the Flin Flon area.  The Rotary Club’s committee chair Ted Hewitt says it was their best weekend so far this year as between Friday and Saturday night the provided a total of 50 rides and those who used their service appreciated getting home safely.  He thanks all those who volunteered from the Women’s Resource Center on Friday night and the Flin Flon Ski Club and Ruth Betts School on Saturday night.

Hewitt adds they are still looking for volunteers to help out on New Years Eve.  You can volunteer by going to their website www.operationrednose.com or call Ted at 204-687-7450.

 The Alzheimer Society of Manitoba is holding its annual door to door canvas next month.  Their Manager of Volunteer Events Trudy Mattey says they need canvassers across the province including Flin Flon. She explains they ask them to go door to door in their neighborhood or a neighborhood of their choice collecting donations on their behalf.  She says the route is usually 20 to 30 houses. Mattey adds they also encourage people to canvas their friends and family or if they’re not interested in that or in addition to that you could also canvas your co-workers, it’s pretty much any way you’re comfortable asking people to support the Alzheimer Society.

To volunteer you can call 1-800-378-6699 or go to their website at www.alzheimer.mb.ca.

The Creighton School Community Council is running its annual Santa Store in the school starting tomorrow.  School Coordinator Carol Sutherland explains the store is for students from pre-K to grade six.  She says the Council has been collecting donations of small Christmas ornaments, household items, knickknacks and things that will be set up in a store fashion for children to shop for their families.  She adds all items will be 25 cents and items will be wrapped or bagged so that they are a surprise for Christmas morning.

If you would like to donate gifts you can still drop them off at the school today.  The Santa Store will be open for students to shop tomorrow and Wednesday.

Members of the Flin Flon Constituency NDP completed their nomination process by counting ballots from across the constituency Friday night.  Tom Lindsey defeated current MLA Clarence Pettersen when the 269 mail in ballots were counted to become the candidate for the April provincial election.  Lindsey says he has been a strong NDP person for 40 years and has experience representing people who needed support. He says there’s a lot to do mentioning Hudbay and the future of this community.  He says it’s not the only employer in Flin Flon constituency so they need to figure out for the city of Flin Flon what its going to look like going forward and how they’re going to make sure that the city remains.  He adds the larger issues are for people in First Nations communities how do they get to participate in what’s going on in the world because right now they’re being left out.

  The final vote count was not released.  Pettersen says he was not happy with the results but he congratulated Lindsey saying he hopes he does well.

Denare Beach Recreation is sponsoring a Family Christmas Party Sunday afternoon.  Recreation Director Jody Lyle invites you to attend.  She says they’re going to have some snacks, drinks, games and crafts and Santa’s going to be stopping by for the kids to have their pictures taken.  She says the party takes place this Sunday from 2 to 4 at the Denareplex in Denare Beach.

  Lyle reminds you to bring your camera so you can take pictures of your children with Santa.

 VMS Ventures has completed a seven hole exploration program. The areas targeted are located about 300 meteres to 2.3 kilometers from the operating Reed Mine between Flin Flon and Snow Lake which VMS owns 30 percent and Hudbay 70 percent and is the operator,

  VMS Interim CEO and President John Roozendaal says the results from their first surface exploration drill program at the Reed Mine are encouraging.  He says three of the seven holes require follow up work based on favorable geology and borehole electromagnetic survey results to date.  He adds borehole geophysical surveys for two holes identified targets ahead of the holes but beyond the depth capacity of the drill so a follow up program is being considered but a decision won’t be made until all results from this drill program are received, analyzed and interpreted.

  Flin Flon’s Lelie Beck has received the nomination to run for the Liberal Party in Flin Flon Constituency for next April’s provincial election.  Beck says for the past decade she has become more active in politics and her past year on City Council has shown her people north of highway 60 are looking for a new perspective and a new way at looking at what the government should be doing economically by diversifying and getting people to think more about living in the north. She says she felt that after going to the A.M.M. convention and listening to the Liberal leader debate the other two leaders that Rana Bokhari’s policies and her vision for Manitoba was aligning with the way she felt she would like to see things evolve.

Beck received the Liberal nomination on Monday.  She is currently on City Council and is a safety consultant and educational trainer for the Northern Health Region.

 Hudbay officials and union presidents met this week to discuss what the future of Hudbay Manitoba looks like.  Vice-President of the Manitoba Business Unit Rob Winton explains times and their peers are certainly being significantly pressured with commodity prices so this week they’ve taken the opportunity to address what their current situation is and understand and share with their employees what their cost attainment actions have been.  He says there have been some small job losses and really sharing with everyone in their operation that Hudbay’s Manitoba Business Unit is going to be operating, they are a viable business but they need to take steps to ensure their long term viability.

Winton says they also addressed Triple Seven Mine noting its reserves are defined and the destiny and ultimate life of the mine is dependent on their ability to change their cost situation in the Manitoba business unit.  He concluded Hudbay is committed to exploration and development in Manitoba.

Several local performers are getting together to celebrate the Christmas season. The event called Christmas Stars and Caroling is happening at Johnny’s Social Club starting at 7:30 tomorrow evening.  One of the Organizers Susan Lethbridge says the first part is going to be all the singers that are going to be performing and the second half is going to be the sing a long caroling portion so they’re going to have Christmas song books for everybody and they’re going to have a good time of singing some good old fashioned Christmas carols.

Tickets are available at the Orange Toad for 15 dollars.  Proceeds go towards future projects at Johnny’s Social Club and the Flin Flon Arts Council.

Creighton Recreation is holding three events to prepare for the Christmas season.  Recreation Director Chana Senyk says it starts with a free Christmas family dance tomorrow night from 7 to 9 at the Creighton Community Hall with a visit from Santa. On Sunday from 2 to 4 she says they have a Christmas skate with the Bombers and everybody coming in with a toy for the gift program will have their picture taken with their favorite Bomber and they’ll have free hot chocolate and treat bags for all those in attendance.  She also notes during the Christmas break they have crafting at the Creighton Recreation Office on Monday the 21^st and Tuesday the 22^nd.

Senyk adds those interested in taking part in the Christmas crafts should pre-register by calling the Creighton Recreation Office at 688-3538.

 Flin Flon and area RCMP have joined other detachments in launching the holiday checkstop campaign.  Spokesperson Sergeant Bert Paquet says this is the time of year to celebrate and enjoy the holidays and their festivities but far too many people are still choosing high risk driving behaviors and driving while impaired.  He reports last year in Manitoba 29 people lost their lives in 28 collisions caused by impaired drivers.  He says some of your loved ones, friends and neighbors are not getting home to their families because of impaired drivers and it is their priority to change those irresponsible behaviors.

In addition Manitoba RCMP have launched a social media campaign called Impaired Reality designed to show the harsh reality of impaired driving and its consequences.  They encourage you to monitor their social media channels. They also wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season.

 The Flin Flon Public Library’s Administrator Cindy McLean says now is the time to return overdue library books.  She explains they annually wave fines for anybody who brings in a gift for our local children’s gift program that’s held at the Friendship Center so you bring in a gift for a child and they will waive any fines that you have.  She says anybody that has that huge fine that’s been piling up can come in and give to someone in need and they will waive that fine for Christmas.

McLean adds the library also has a good selection of children’s Christmas books available which you can purchase and donate to the gift program or for any child for Christmas.

Consultant Rick Schick attended yesterday’s meeting of the Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce.  He met with the Chamber and other groups in the community as part of his feasibility study for the North Central Canada Centre of the Arts and Environment proposed for this area to serve the north.  Schick says his visits have shown him how much activity there is in the community but there is no center of focus for that activity.  He says they think there’s a need for some kind of performing arts center as well as something for the visual arts because they’re working out of a store front right now but also more of a community center with a focus on the arts.  He adds it means that people can come to have a coffee or just relax in a nice space with a focus.

  Schick says the results of his study should be available in March.  He says it will give a direction and provide a whole lot of options and the Arts Council and community will take it from there.

Rockcliff Copper Corporation has announced a new copper discovery with the identification of a high grade copper corridor within the historic Talbot Deposit and an extension of the Talbot Deposit north lens.  The Company reports they have successfully completed their first phase five thousand meter ten hole drill program at its Talbot property in the Flin Flon Greenstone Belt.  Based on the success of historical drilling and Rockcliff’s first phase drill program they have commissioned a complete resource estimate on the Talbot Deposit.  They have also announced plans for a 75 hundred meter drill program at the Snow Lake Project in 2016 that will include drilling at its Talbot and Rail properties.

The new North Copper Zone and nearby geophysical anomalies represent the second known area on the property associated with significant copper bearing mineralization.

The Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce and Manitoba Hydro are sponsoring a Your Business Shines a Light on Christmas contest.  Their Special Events Committee Chair Cindy McLean explains they will ask people to come in and vote for the business that they think shows the most in three categories which are the spirit of giving, creative Christmas decorating and community involvement.  She says the buckets are going to be at the Denare Beach Village office, the Town of Creighton office and the City of Flin Flon office.

McLean adds voting ends on December 17^th.

  Mayor Cal Huntley and MLA Clarence Pettersen

MLA Clarence Pettersen was at the Hemlock apartments yesterday to make two announcements.  The first was new senior’s apartments on Hemlock Drive.  He says as we age we all want to age with dignity in safe communities close to our families and friends and that’s why they are going to build a new two storey apartment complex at 4 Hemlock Drive right beside the present building.  He says the new complex will be designed to compliment the present complex and it will have 20 accessible units in total with six of them highly accessible and there’ll be two two bedroom units.

Pettersen says tenders are out with work starting in the spring.  Mayor Cal Huntley thanked Pettersen and all those involved noting this is a wonderful announcement for the community.

Pettersen also announced renovations will continue at the Aspen Grove apartments at a cost of 6.1 million dollars.  Phase one started in August with upgrading of all exterior most of which is complete and phase two will include upgrading the water and sewer mains in some buildings and upgrading the underground electrical service between buildings.

Aspen Grove Apartments

Operation Red Nose had a successful second weekend in the Flin Flon area.  The Rotary Club’s Committee Chair Ted Hewitt says they did 30 rides over a good weekend.  He says that’s more than double the number for the weekend and those who used the service really appreciated getting themselves and their vehicles home safely.  He thanks all those who volunteered from the Woodcutters Anonymous group which is a group of friends from Bakers Narrows on Friday and the Creighton Community School who were joined by those from Denare Beach Community Council as well as McIsaac School on Saturday evening.

  Hewitt says they really need groups or individuals to volunteer to help out on New Year’s Eve.  You can volunteer online at www.operationrednose.com or call Ted at 204-687-7450.

The Flin Flon Public Library will be hosting a Polar Express Christmas Movie Party on Tuesday December 22^nd.  Administrator Cindy McLean invites you to a fun time.  She says you can leave your jammies on and grad your children and come to the library for a movie, hot chocolate, coffee, some breakfast snacks and story time with Santa.  She says it is a free event with 50 Polar Express tickets available so you have to go to the library to pick up your ticket and children under five have to be accompanied by an adult.

The party runs from 10 to 12 Tuesday December 22^nd at the Public Library.

 The Ham Sandwich Theatre Group is presenting their production of Harvey Saturday and Sunday.  Director Tom Heine says the story is about Elwood P. Dowd and his friend a rabbit named Harvey and there’s one problem in that it appears only Elwood can see this rabbit so you can imagine what kind of problems this causes because he tells Harvey everything and he introduces this friend to all of his friends.  He says Elwood’s sister is trying to have him committed into the local sanitarium because she figures he’s bonkers and the fun ensues from there.

Harvey will be performed Saturday night at 7:30 and Sunday afternoon at 2 in the Flin Flon Community Hall with tickets 15 dollars at Northern Rainbows End or at the door.

Alan Hair

Hudbay Minerals has announced David Garofalo has provided notice to the Board of Directors of his resignation as President and Chief Executive Officer.  He has accepted an appointment as President and Chief Executive Officer of Goldcorp Incorporated.

  Hudbay also announced it has appointed Alan Hair as President and Chief Executive Officer effective January 1^st.  Hair has served as Hudbay’s Chief Operating Officer since 2012 and has held a number of senior leadership roles in business development and operations at Hudbay since 1996.

  Garofalo says Hudbay’s development as a Company over the past five years is a testament to the hard work, dedication and competence of their employees across the organization adding he is very proud of all they have been able to accomplish and will miss the wonderful culture they have built at Hudbay.

 The 22^nd annual Christmas Gift Program designed to enable parents to give their children a gift at Christmas when circumstances prevent them from doing so is underway at the Flin Flon Friendship Center.  The Center’s Program Events Coordinator Jeremiah Herrmann says you can register until December 10^th by either coming to the Friendship Center or you can call the general line at 687-3900 and they’ll take down your name and number and he or Virginia will call you back and get you booked for an appointment.  He says anybody can register as it’s for families in need during Christmas and you can register a child up to the age of 17 years old.

Herrmann says they also welcome donations for the gift program. You can drop off gifts or cash donations at the Friendship Center at 57 Church Street.

 The Hapnot Grad Class will be holding their annual tea and craft sale tomorrow afternoon. The Collegiate’s Bobbi Willets invites you to attend.  She says as usual they’ll be serving ribbon sandwiches and there’ll be dainties that the grads have made as well as coffee, tea and juice and then they will have their bake sale and craft sale going on.  She adds they will have some of the grads who are going to be performing some songs for their guests.

The tea and craft sale runs from 1 to 4 tomorrow in the Hapnot Collegiate gym.  Admission is five dollars or four dollars if you bring a non-perishable food item for the Lord’s Bounty Food Bank.

The Women’s Resource Center is holding its annual candle light vigil Sunday evening to mark the 26^th anniversary of the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.  The Center’s Colleen Arnold says they will be holding the vigil at Pioneer Square at 5:15 and they are asking you to volunteer to take a moment to stand and light a candle to help deliver the vital message to our community and to all Canadians that we will stand united to end violence against women and girls.  She adds we need to eradicate violence so let’s use our collective voice to say enough against violence against women.

Candles will be available at Pioneer Square.  If you can’t attend you can listed to 102.9 CFAR Sunday afternoon at 5:15 to hear their message.

 For an 11^th year the local choir Borealis will hold a Service of Lessons and Carols for the Whole Community Sunday afternoon to support the Lord’s Bounty Food Bank.  Tim Spencer says it’ll be the same format as in previous years as this is getting to be a bit of a tradition here in Flin Flon.  He says they’ll have eight or nine carols sung by the choir and them another five or six that’ll be sung by the congregation and then there’ll be the reading of the Christmas story.

The service will be held Sunday afternoon at 3:30 at the Lutheran Church on Second Avenue.  Admission is an offering of money or non-perishable food items for the Food Bank.

Outstanding grade 7 to 12 students at Creighton Community School were recognized for their involvement in the school and their community.  Northern Saskatchewan Student Achievement Awards were presented by Vice-Principal Wendy Bentley with School Coordinator Carol Sutherland explaining the awards which were established in 1989 by the Ministry of Education and are for the last school year.  She says recipients are selected based on their effort to succeed, academic achievement, attendance, awareness and pride in northern lifestyles, special talents and interests, leadership within the school and/or community and future goals.

The Awards for grade 7 were presented to Sarah Gardiner and Lauren Fox, for grade 9 to Magann Sutherland and Aline Nasselquist, for grade 10 to Jordan Shanowksi who was unable to attend as he is on an exchange program in Germany, for grade 11 to Kelsey Farkas and for Grade 12 to Taylor Kryschuk.

Mayor Cal Huntley and Council praised city and airport workers for their work during the heavy snowfall last month adding it’s the most snow they have seen fall in one day.  Mayor Huntley urges people to stay off the ice until we get a lot more cold weather noting there have been some close calls.  He also encourages people to use Operation Red Nose not only as a safety factor in getting home after partying but the Rotary Club receives grants from Manitoba Public Insurance based on the number of rides and that money goes back into the community through the Club’s support of youth activities.

In other business Council received the Fire Chief’s report for November indicating 11 calls during the month.  Council approved the 2016 recreation rate schedule with the exception of the Whitney Forum which is done separately.  Rates will go up four percent except for Camp Whitney and the Tourist Bureau camp ground . And Council passed on final reading an amendment to the Traffic Bylaw to set the time limit at two hours for handicapped parking spots.

Health Minister Sharon Blady has announced the Manitoba Government and the Northern Health Region are moving forward on the project to expand the emergency department at the Flin Flon General Hospital.  Blady says the expansion will be better for both patients and staff at the facility as the new space will be laid out to improve care for patients and help front line care providers to deliver even better services quickly.

The new emergency department will include four observation /special care bays, two treatment rooms, a family consultation room, a gynecological room that can also be used as an isolation room, one intravenous therapy room, a procedure room and a trauma room. It will also include more efficient waiting room layout that will assist health care providers to better monitor patients waiting for care. The redeveloped space will also contain a secure room to address the needs of physically aggressive clients, a decontamination shower for patients that present due to exposure to a harmful substance and additional space for equipment storage.

Construction is expected to begin in the new year.

AMM Leaders Debate

At last night’s Flin Flon City Council meeting Councilors Karen MacKinnon and Leslie Beck reported on their attendance at the recent convention for the Association of Manitoba Municipalities in Brandon.

Councilor MacKinnon reported there were representatives from all northern communities there and it was good to hear them raise their concerns.  She said they had a good chance to discuss issues with cabinet members and to learn more about the provincial party leaders during their debate at the convention.

Councilor Beck reported on a meeting she attended with Municipal Government Minister Drew Caldwell.  She says they discussed the need for a base tax in Manitoba, the difficulty in getting businesses to come here and invest in such things as senior’s housing, they discussed being at the table if there are any plans for growth in the north as well as the need for assisted living in Flin Flon.  She says the Minister seemed quite interested in the issues raised and he and his staff will be looking into the issues.

 Ducks Unlimited and Canadian Tire are holding their first Sportman’s Bash Friday.  The committee’s Margot Gray explains attendees can buy tickets for 20 dollars on a chance to win one of 20 different prizes from Canadian tire and these prizes include firearms and other things such as a blind, fish finders, augers and a 400 dollar gift card.  She says there’ll be 10 different draws through the evening and they get to pick from the banner of prizes displayed at Burkee’s and for each draw you have to buy a new set of tickets.

Gray adds the event begins at Burkee’s on Main Street at 5 o’clock Friday but you can drop in earlier to pick up your tickets.

Operation Red Nose had a successful first weekend of taking vehicles and their owners home safely in the Flin Flon area.  Rotary Club committee chair Ted Hewitt says the first weekend has a history of being slow and this year was no different.  He says they had good coverage for any people who wanted to use the service.  He reports between Friday and Saturday nights they provided a total of 13 rides and those who used the service appreciated getting themselves and their vehicle home safely.  He thanked those who volunteered from the Border Explorers Friday night and the Kinsmen on Saturday night.

  Hewitt adds they are still looking for groups or individuals to volunteer for New Year’s Eve. Forms are available at www.operationrednose.com or call Ted at 204-687-7450.  Operation Red Nose will run Fridays and Saturdays through December except Christmas and Boxing days and will run on New Year’s Eve.

The CADAC Festival of Trees was held Friday and Saturday under the theme Making Spirits Bright.  Along with the craft sale and other events those attending were asked to vote and bid on items that had been designed and donated by various individuals, businesses and organizations.

  The People’s Choice Award for center pieces went to Santa Train by Denare Beach New Horizons, for wreaths Reflecting Christmas Spirits by the Flin Flon Friendship Center and for trees A Gift of Hope Tree by Carla, Madison and Mackenzie Simon.  The Best in Show went to the Denare Beach Recreation Board for their tree Angel.

  CADAC’s Executive Director Laurel Mackie thanks everyone who entered for their generosity and support adding the Festival would not be possible without the wonderful support that only can be found in this community and area.  Next year’s theme will be Merry Memories.

The Flin Flon Inner Wheel Club and Hudbay will be providing buses December 9^th for seniors to see the Christmas lights in our area.  The Inner Wheel Club’s Betty Smith says the tour starts at 6:30. She adds it’s for seniors over age 60 and they would like you to book your spot early because it’s limited seating as they use the buses from the School Division. Smith says after you register they give you the information you need about pick up times and locations and then they’ll follow up with fellowship at City Hall after where hot chocolate and goodies will be served.

You can book a seat by calling Betty at 204-687-3298.