The Flin Flon Kinsmen Club invites you to take part in their 24th annual mini golf classic on Saturday.  The Club’s Tom Therien says golfers collect pledges to golf in a fund raiser for cystic fibrosis.  He says for a 75 dollar minimum pledge to Cystic Fibrosis Canada they are going to let you take part in probably on of the best mini golf challenges you’ll ever encounter.  He says they start off at the Legion at noon, they’re going to play six holes there, they they’re going to move to the Royal Hotel and play another six holes and then they’re going to finish up at Burkee’s with another six holes and after that they’re going to feed you and give away some prizes.
Pledge forms are available from any Kinsmen member or from Tom at the Co-op store.

On March 13th 18 students and 3 chaperones left Flin Flon for a life changing school trip to France.  Last night in front of the Board of Trustees for Flin Flon School Division Hapnot teacher Natalie Milligan and students Andie Shaw, Myla Bridgeman and Jeff Odegaard spoke about their travel experiences.  From tireless fundraising efforts to offset costs, to stories about flying and sight seeing, the students took turns at the podium during a colorful and interesting power point presentation.  Interesting to note that during their stay the students handed out Flin Flon coins to strangers.  The coins were courtesy of the Chamber of Commerce as gifts to France from Canada.  The weather during the trip was extremely good complimenting the traveler’s culture enriching experience.
In other news Superintendent Blaine Veitch encouraged parents and family members to attend the spring concert this evening presented by the grade four and five students at McIsaac School.  April is celebrated as music month in Manitoba Schools and Veitch noted the strong band programs in our Division.  On May 1st Hapnot band members will depart on a southern road trip that includes a date with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.

Rockcliff Resources has signed an option agreement to earn a 51 percent interest in the Talbot property from Hudson Bay Exploration and Development Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hudbay Minerals.  The property hosts the Talbot copper, gold, silver deposit covering just over four thousand hectares representing a geological environment similar to that of present and past producing base metal mines associated with bi-modal volcanic rocks in the Flin Flon Snow Lake Greenstone Belt.

Rockcliff’s President  Ken Lapierre states their portfolio now consists of four high grade deposits two of which have copper resources with significant credits in gold, silver and zinc.  He says it provides them with two high grade copper deposits in close proximity to each other near a highway and active power lines.  As a result the economic viability of the region is greatly enhanced and they look forward to advancing both deposits this year.

Women in Flin Flon and the surrounding area will have the chance to identify and reduce their risk for heart disease and stroke, their greatest health risk.  A Women’s Health Stop session organized by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and Northern Health Region will be held Friday from 12 to 3 at the Friendship Center on Church Street.  Primary Health Care Nurse Robbi Lynn Cooper Roberts says women of all ages will receive information about their risk factors.  She says at the Health Stop they’re going to try to get people to know their risk for heart disease and stroke by doing blood pressure checks, some pulse checks, certain people will be getting their cholesterol checked, some smoking cessation as well as signing up for some presentations for stress management and getting information on heart disease and strokes.

For more information call Robbi Lynn at 204-681-3137.

The Flin Flon Creighton and Area SPCA are looking for stories about pet heroes.  Their President Debbie Hiebert explains they’re looking for a pet that shows some degree of hero measure and they need a short paragraph on your pet describing that event which can be submitted by email long with a picture to the SPCA and you can see their website or facebook for more details.  She adds it doesn’t have to be a dog, it can be a cat or some other animal and if you have a hero on your hands just let them know.

The pet and owner receive a medallion and plaque.  Entries can be emailed to ffspca@mymts.net, mailed to Box 863 Flin Flon or dropped off at the shelter.  The deadline is May 16^th.

Ecole McIsaac School students will be presenting their spring musical tomorrow evening.  Music Instructor Lara Smith says they are having the grade 4 and 5 students who will be campers for the musical that’s called Summer Camp and the grade 3 to 8 choir students will be singing behind them as campers as well.  She says basically it’s a comedy about students trying to find a place to belong at summer camp.

The musical begins at 7 tomorrow evening in the McIsaac School gym with a silver collection at the door.

The Tri-Service Committee from the Rotary, Lions and Kinsmen Clubs along with CFAR and the Million Dollar Hole in One are accepting applications for up to five thousand dollars in grant money.  The Committee’s Bunny Burke says the grant applications are open to all of the organizations within the community be it hockey, baseball, the army cadets, or even a charity, a church, anyone can apply.  She says just give them the logic behind your application, what the funds will be used for and they rate them and select the recipient.

The deadline to apply is Friday. For information visit www.flinflononline.com or call Bunny Burke at 204-687-6967.

Today is recognized as a National Day of Mourning.  United Steelworkers local 7106 President Tom Davie explains they get together once a year on April 28th to pay respects to workers who are killed and injured on the job. He says they have a ceremony at their monument down by the Vic Inn with some speeches, wreath laying and after they go back to the Steelworkers Center and have a get together, coffee and just talk about what’s going on.

The ceremony gets underway at 7:30 tonight.

The Northern Neighbors and Thomas Sill Foundations have partnered with Hapnot Collegiate for a Youth in Philanthropy grant program. The Collegiate’s Corinne Mathews says grants are available to any registered charity within the Flin Flon, Creighton, Denare Beach area and the high school group is not limiting the type of grants that they are sending out, they would like to see what is out there right now so pretty much anything is within range.  She adds they are accepting grant applications in the amount of one thousand dollars or less.

The deadline for applications is Wednesday.  To apply or for more information you can contact Corinne at Hapnot Collegiate at 204-687-7506.

  The Flin Flon Lions Club hosted their handi-van drivers last week and presented them with a Certificate of Recognition from the City of Flin Flon, a Volunteer Appreciation Certificate from the Lions Club and the CAA Driving Angel Award which includes an angel pin, decal, certificate and a letter of thanks from CAA Manitoba.

Club Treasurer Monica Lone who nominated the drivers says the Driving Angel Awards honor people in the province who volunteer to transport seniors.

The eight drivers honored include Rick Hurst, Art Hughes, Rose Marie Ariko, LaVerne Hinzman, Lorne Moorhead, Ron Baschuck, John Taylor and Murray Steves.

Club President Roger Poirier thanked the volunteer drivers for their dedication to keeping the service running for seniors and handicapped people in our communities.

 After several months of preparation and consultation with partners and stakeholder the RCMP is relocating their Northern Traffic Services to The Pas.

Northern Traffic Services was created in 2009 and was managed from the Cranberry Portage Detachment with members based out of Flin Flon, Cranberry Portage, Snow Lake and Wabowden Detachments.  The relocation will have four members dedicated to traffic and criminal interdiction working out of The Pas Detachment.

Northern Traffic Services focuses on enforcement, education and prevention in areas such as impaired driving, unbelted occupants, excessive speed and intersection safety.

 Juno award winning singer songwriter Shari Ulrich will be in concert with the Aurora and Flin Flon Community Choirs Sunday afternoon at 2 in the RH Channing Auditorium. The Flin Flon Choirs Director Crystal Kolt says it’ll be a great concert with a wide variety of things.  She says Shari’s going to be singing solo as well as joining songs that she has written that include the Flin Flon Community Choir and the Aurora Choir from The Pas and there’s also going to be three pieces the Community Choir will be doing independently.

Tickets are available at 20 dollars at Northern Rainbows End on Main Street.

A group of students at Hapnot Collegiate is taking part in a thirty hour famine this weekend.  Organizer Corinne Mathews explains the famine is a fund raising and awareness event for World Vision.  She says each student needs to raise 60 dollars in pledges to be able to stay overnight but the main reason they do it is to raise awareness for what happens in third world countries so the students get a better idea of the conditions that other people live in.

The thirty hour famine began at midnight last night with students staying at the school overnight tonight with games and movies wrapping up at six tomorrow morning with breakfast for the students.  You can make a pledge to support the project at the school or by going to www.famine.ca and enter Hapnot at find a group.

NetSet Communications based in Brandon is bringing high speed internet to rural Manitoba. Corporate Account Manager Mike Reichert told the Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce yesterday they are now officially in the Flin Flon Creighton region.  He explained they’ve got residential packages, small business packages and then they’ve got that they call their corporate enterprise packages.  He says anywhere from the basic home user with a couple of kids that are looking to do facebook, Netflix, online gaming to small businesses and then packages with greater band width available for some of the larger corporations in town.

Reichert says they have the equipment mounted and have started some residential service but are a month to six weeks away from full service.

Net Set is at the Trade and Leisure Show at the Sportex through today and tomorrow or contact their dealer and installer Streamer’s Hardware in Cranberry Portage or go to www.netset1.ca.

The North Star Quilt Guild is holding its Quilt Show at the Flin Flon Community Hall tomorrow and Saturday.  The Guild’s President Audrey Neufeld says there’s a lot to see at the show with about 150 quilted pieces that are made by people in Flin Flon, Creighton, Denare Beach, Cranberry Portage and other areas and there’s also going to be raffles of quilts that have been made by these ladies.  She says they’ll also have a display of what they call comfort quilts which are quilts that they gather together once a month to create and then distribute them around the community to people who are in need.

Neufeld adds they will also have coffee, tea and cookies, a toonie parade and a merchants market.  The show is open tomorrow from noon to nine and Saturday from ten to four with admission five dollars each day.

Creighton Recreation and Creighton Community School are joining together to present a coffee house open mike tomorrow.  Recreation Director Channa Senyk says this is their first coffee house and they’re hoping for a great turnout.  She says a silver collection will be taken at the door and all proceeds are going towards the new football program.  Senyk adds they have Imriana Jones, One Way Ticket, Chad Pabianik and lots more and there’s an opportunity for anyone who would like to come up and takeover the mike and sing a song or two.

The coffee house starts at 7 tomorrow night in the Creighton School library with plans to hold another one in late May.

The Civil Air Search and Rescue Association or CASARA is looking for volunteers from this area.  The groups Gerry Angell says CASARA works under the wing of the military search and rescue with training provided for anyone interested in flying and working with quality people.  He says they get volunteers and they devote their time and efforts to train so they can be ready if there is a search anywhere in the province and look for overdue hunters, canoeists, aircraft and chase ELT signals.

To volunteer or for more information you can visit their display at CFAR’s Trade and Leisure Show at the Creighton Sportex today through Saturday or call Gerry at 306-362-2112.

The Rotary Club of Flin Flon invites you to be part of their Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament this weekend if you’re 18 and older.  Rotarian Tim Smith says you can have fun while helping the club support community projects.  He says there’s cash prizes, entry fee is 150 dollars and that includes your supper.  He says they are going to start at 2 o’clock so if you already have your ticket you can show up just prior to 2 o’clock otherwise you will want a walk up ticket before they’re sold out so they’re going to open the doors at 1 o’clock to sell tickets at the door as well.

Smith adds they will also have sit and go tables to keep playing if you’re knocked out of the tournament early.  The tournament takes place Saturday at the Elks Hall with tickets available at Kleen-All.

The City of Flin Flon’s financial plan for this year was presented last night.  The total budget is 12.6 million dollars up from 11.7 million last year.  The mill rate is down 13.75 percent from last year for residential and 11.92 percent for commercial property largely due to the special levy for police and fire services being listed separate from the general tax bill.

Finance Chair Colleen McKee says they are dealing with government legislated sewer and water treatment plants, infrastructure that can no longer be patched it has to be replaced, our tax base is half what it used to be, the cost of recreation facilities continues to rise and at some point they may have to consider closures and taxpayers are reluctant to pay more.  She says they are saving several ways including implementing the special services levy, operation management, implementing some non-resident fees at facilities, setting guidelines for donations, working with the RCMP to reduce costs, the accommodation tax, and Hudbay grant equalization with the School Division all allowing 375 thousand dollars to be spent where it was needed,

McKee says they continue to lobby the provincial government and continue to look at how to reduce costs in the community evaluating what we need and what are essential services.

102.9 CFAR’s annual Trade and Leisure Show starts tomorrow afternoon.  Manager Dianne O’Brien says they have a lot to offer shoppers again this year with just over seventy vendors.  She says they’ve got a lot of their old favorites like the fudge and all those sorts of things but they also have a lot of new things like Harley Davidson bikes, a lot of different quad companies, boat companies like Exclusive Auto Marine but also some new ones.  She adds they’ve got a lot of variety this year and are really excited about their 31st annual.

The Trade and Leisure Show is open at the Creighton Sportex tomorrow from 4 to 9, Friday from noon to 9 and Saturday from 10 to 4.

The Women’s Resource Center is offering an anger management workshop for women starting next week.  The Center’s Barb Hopkinson says the workshop is to promote an understanding of what anger is, the feelings and affects generated by anger, recognition of occurrences and effective ways to combat anger.  She adds the effects of anger can harm the family, the self, employment and anyone connected with the individual.

The course begins Monday at 6:30 and will run for eight weeks.  To register call the Women’s Resource Center at 204-681-3105.

Earth Day is being celebrated today and Earth Day Canada is asking you to help create a healthier world.  Their Director of Programs Ayal Lesh says they are asking people to make it count. He explains Make It Count is an engagement program that encourages Canadians from coast to coast to get involved in just everyday actions that can help reduce our impact on the environment.  He adds it’s a fun way to focus on a few areas of our everyday lives that can focus our attention in the time of year when everybody focuses their attention on the environment which is Earth Day.

Lesh says they hope the campaign will show that small changes can have a huge impact on the environment.  You can find out more at their website www.earthday.ca.

Parents are reminded to register your children for kindergarten in Flin Flon School Division.  Assistant Superintendent Dean Grove says they should be registered by April 30th.  He says anybody who has a child who is turning five in the year that they’re registering is eligible and they would need to get to the school in their contact area and get the registration papers.  He adds they ask that they take a copy of their birth certificate and if they don’t have that a copy of their health card so they can verify ages.

Information papers on preparing your child for kindergarten and registration forms are available at the elementary schools.  Students in the Kindervention Program don’t have to register as they are already registered for Kindergarten through the Kindervention Program.

As part of V-Day the Women’s Resource Center is sponsoring a performance of the Vagina Monologues.  The Center’s Barb Hopkinson says the play raises funds and awareness.  She says it’s based on real women’s stories so it allows women who hear the stories to know they are not alone in their experience. She says it helps people who have experienced violence to heal and it inspires people, women and men, to get involved in V-Day efforts to stop violence against women and girls.

The Vagina Monologues will be performed by several local readers at 7 Thursday evening in the Hapnot Colligiate theatre.  A silver collection will be taken to support the Women’s Safe Haven.

Brian Barton, a Regional Field Supervisor for Manitoba Conservation says these are number one on the poaching list.  He says there are certain seasons to hunt certain animals. Most of the season for big game hunting run into the fall and some of them run into December with moose season, black bear season open in the spring and then stops during the summer and then opens up again in the fall.  Barton adds fishing’s on here until the end of this month and will then be closed until the 18th of May and then open back up after the spawning should be done and then fishing will be open for the summer.

Manitoba Conservation travels to boat launches and hunting camps to better educate hunters and fishers on illegal hunting.  For more information on illegal hunting or to report poaching activity call 1-800-782-0076.

Three local churches have joined together for a Good Friday Service tomorrow morning.  Salvation Army Major Debbie Allen says it will be a time for sharing.  She says they’ll be joining together the Alliance, Pentecostal and Salvation Army for brunch prior to their 10 o’clock service of remembrance and Good Friday celebration.

The brunch starts at 9:15 at the Flin Flon Community Hall followed by the service.  Just over 200 people have attended past services.

The Amisk Lake Church of Denare Beach also invites everyone to their Good Friday service at the Denareplex tomorrow morning at 11 with gospel music, refreshments and prayers for the sick and needy.

Recycling Center Administrator Deb Odegaard says the schedule for the Red Bag Curbside Recycling Program will be changing effective April 30th.  She says there will be curbside pickup for all of Flin Flon that day and  pickups will continue for all of Flin Flon every second week.

Odegaard explains the change is the result of Creighton providing curbside recycling for their residents beginning May 1st.  In the past pickups were done in different areas on alternating Wednesdays except the fifth Wednesday which was very confusing.

Odegaard says residents who want their recycling picked up at the front curb pay for the service by purchasing a red bag for $3.50.  They are available at the Gas Bar, Acklands, Super K and the Recycling Center.

The Red Bags are placed on the curb and you can include two more bags or boxes of recycling with the red bag.

For more information you can call the Center at 204-687-6169.

General Manager Tom Therien told the North of 53 Co-op annual meeting last night they had sales last year of over 26.6 million dollars with total net savings of just over 2.3 million or 8.7 percent of sales all records for the Co-op with a successful year in all departments.

The Board authorized cash repayment to members of just over 609 thousand dollars from an allocation of 4 percent for food and 7.75 percent for petroleum with cheques now available at the store.

Therien noted their shopping center is old and its definitely time to look at a brand new store.  He says they have talked to the development company at the mall sight about property as well as Loblaws about the vacant Extra Foods building but they are not interested in selling.

Nominations were held for two three year positions on the board.  Two current members are seeking re-election Lyle Borgstrom and Erhart Dzuibak along with Del Ward.  An election will be held in the store May 9th with advance polling May 2nd.

Last night’s Flin Flon School Board meeting started off with a presentation of a cheque and certificate for grade 12 Hapnot student Nicole Storey.  The Student Citizenship Certificate of Merit is awarded through the Manitoba School Board Association in recognition of exemplary citizenship in the school and community.  Nicole is the president of the safe grad committee, she is a member of the student council, was part of the trip to Nicaragua and is a huge part of fundraising efforts at the school.  Nicole shared her experience in Nicaragua with the board and said the trip was an amazing eye opener and would readily return. She said many local businesses contributed to fundraising efforts highlighted the spaghetti night at Chicken Chef where upwards of 25 hundred dollars was raised. She says she was surprised to get the nomination for the region and even though she didn’t win she was pleased her efforts were recognized.

Churchill MP Niki Ashton reports she has visited many First Nations communities accessed by winter roads where she takes time to visit the schools.  She says she has been struck by just how hard communities, teachers, staff, parents and students are working but it is also clear what impact under funding is having on First Nations schools. Ashton says she saw first hand the appalling conditions in many of the schools, everything from rotting floorboards to a complete lack of running water, the lack of funding for the most basic school supplies and the lack of funding for key curriculum options.

Ashton says she is calling for fair funding for First Nations education and has expressed her deep concern regarding the lack of consultation on the First Nations Education Act.

At their meeting last night Flin Flon City Council received a letter from Sharon Robert requesting permission to operate a taxi company in Flin Flon. She notes they are looking at starting with two taxis increasing to five as demand warrants.  Letters of support from local hotels noted at present there is a lack of service particularly late at night.  The letter was referred to the committee of the whole council.

In other business Council approved the awarding of a contract for a feasibility study to learn the cost of replacing or refurbishing the Aqua Center so they will have the numbers ready when money becomes available to move ahead on the project.

In honor of Poetry Awareness Month local poet Glenda Hobbs attended the meeting and read several poems about Flin Flon including City on the Rocks, The Hundred Stairs, Flinty’s Reflections and one called Rumors that was about Johnny’s Confectionary.

Council approved funding of one thousand dollars for the Fire Works Committee and 475 dollars in lieu of Community Hall rental for Habitat for Humanity to hold their Celebrity Auction in November.

Flin Flon Public Library Administrator Cindy McLean invites children to the library tomorrow afternoon to celebrate Easter.  She encourages all children to join them for the movie It’s The Easter Beagle Charlie Brown.  She adds they’ll be having snacks, stories, an Easter egg hunt and the Easter bunny will be there.

The celebration runs at the library from 4 to 6 tomorrow afternoon.

The Central Canada Film Group is presenting the film The Sapphires tomorrow night.  The group’s Collin Davis says it’s about four young ladies who have a chance to launch a professional singing career back in the 1960s. He says it touches on a lot of elements from the 1960s that people will recognize like the Vietnam war and things like that adding it’s a real crowd pleasing film.

The Sapphires will be shown tomorrow night at 7 in the Hapnot Collegiate Theatre.  Admission is ten dollars.

The Flin Flon Community Choir’s performance in New York last December can be seen Monday night.  Choir Director Crystal Kolt says they have received the DVD of the performance.  She says they received it from New York from their concert at the Lincoln Center and they’re going to be showing it on Monday, April 21st at the Hapnot Dorothy Ash Theatre at 7 o’clock.  She says it is reserved seating so if people are interested in getting a seat they should contact the Flin Flon Arts Council.             

The choir was part of the performance of Handel’s Messiah in New York.

Kolt adds there is very limited seating for the viewing so contact them soon.

Earth Day Canada is challenging children across the county to make changes to help the environment.  Their Director of Programs Ayal Lesh says they have a program called Act for the Planet which is part of their Eco Kids program and its really focused on helping kids to get more involved in the environment, sharing what they are doing for the environment through a photo or drawing element and that goes into a contest where kids can win some great prizes.

You can get more information on Act for the Planet and other environmental issues by visiting their website www.earthday.ca.  The contest runs until the end of this month.

The Flin Flon Neighborhood Revitalization Corporation is holding a community consultation tomorrow night.  The Corporation’s Laurence Gillespie says this is the last step in their community consultation process.  He explains for the past year they have been gathering people’s opinions about what they feel the community’s priorities should be and the whole point of the exercise is to basically work all those priorities into a three year plan.  He says they’ve got a draft plan ready and what they will do is go over the plan suggesting changes that people might have.

Gillespie says everyone is invited to the meeting being held tomorrow night at 7 in the city council chambers.

The Habitat 53° Chapter of Habitat for Humanity will be reopening its ReStore for another season this week.  The ReStore accepts donations of building material, appliances, furniture and other gently used unwanted or discontinued items which they sell at reasonable prices to raise money to build a home that provides a family of low income with access to affordable home ownership.  Manager Kathy McCormick says they will be opening earlier this year with doors open Saturdays April 19th and 26th from 1 t 4. Then starting May 2nd they will be open Fridays from 1 to 4 as well as Saturdays from 10 to 3 until the end of September.  She adds their Re Store is located on the Armories lot beside Twin Motors.

The ReStore is also looking for volunteers to help during their business hours.  If you can help call Kathy at 687-6582 or Katie Anderson at 687-3935.

At their meeting last week members of the Flin Flon Lions Club voted to accept a slate of officers for the 2014-15 Lions year presented by their nomination committee.

Elected President was Andy Wasylciw, Past President Roger Poirier, Vice Presidents Andy Stewart, Wayne Streamer and Ken Mansell, Secretary Isabel Stewart, Treasurer Monica Lone, Lion Tamer Wilf Schmitz, Tail Twister John Kuzub, one year Directors Joe Bradford and Joyce McLennan and two year Directors Joe McCormick and Terry McLennan.

The new executive takes office on July 1st.

At the Flin Flon and District Environment Council annual meeting Administrator Deb Odegaard reported we recycled almost 396 tonnes last year up 16 tonnes from 2012 with a goal of 500 tonnes a year. Three shipments of ewaste were also sent out.

Odegaard says there have been changes.  They now ship material to Winnipeg for sorting, Creighton has agreed to provide free curbside pick up starting May 1st, all red bag pick up in Flin Flon will change to every second week starting April 30th, they have purchased a recycling trailer to be placed at a convenient location in Flin Flon and are now doing dry cell battery recycling.

The meeting also honored the late Darrel Nomeland who had been a dedicated volunteer at the Center.

Odegaard presented two awards, a 15 year dedicated service award to Rhonda Lowe and a community support award to the North of 53 Consumers Co-op received by their Board President Dave Kendall.