Diplomas were presented to 54 graduates of Hapnot Collegiate last night along with 69 bursaries and scholarships.

The largest award the Hudbay W.A. Green bursary for 35 hundred dollars a year for up to four years was presented to Kiele Kittle who also received the Governor General Bronze Medal for highest academic standing and the Sparling Trophy for the student who contributes the most to school life while still maintaining a good academic standing.

Valedictorian Michael Whitbread spoke on his start at Hapnot four years ago and what was the future then is here thanking those who got him here his parents, staff, teachers who turn students into the leaders of tomorrow and his fellow students hoping the world is ready for a group of really talented people.

Guest speaker Jake Rogers, a Hapnot graduate and then teacher there two years ago told the grads hard work leads to success, your going to fail so learn from it and in life happiness is being passionate about something beyond your job.

You can see other awards presented attached to this story later this morning on our website www.flinflononline.com.

Michael Whitbread Jake Rogers

MLA Tom Lindsey has strongly criticized the provincial government’s decision to close the Manitoba Public Insurance Claim Center in Flin Flon effective October 31^st.  He says he’s really sad to see that the Pallister government is now not just ignoring the north they’re actively abandoning the north adding there’s no real reason for shutting down that office.  He says we need a government that actually supports the north and looks after people in the north noting it’s another hardship for seniors and for those people who access the service now that we’ll have to drive to The Pas.

MPI told reporters they are not expecting layoffs at the Flin Flon facility but a company spokesperson couldn’t say what the staff will be doing after the closure.

The Northern Village of Denare Beach invites you to join them for Canada Day celebrations tomorrow evening.  Recreation Director Crystal Banting says they start at 4 o’clock at the Main Beach.  She says they have everything from children’s games with the Denare Beach Fire Department, they have a barbeque at 5, a bike decorating contest at 6, tug of war in the water at 6:30, a sand castle contest at 7, they have Fear Factor back this year again, free Canada Day cupcakes and ice cream at 10.

Canada Day at Denare Beach wraps up with fireworks at 11:45.

The Freedom Outreach Program in Denare Beach held their 5^th annual Walk For Freedom at the end of May.  The group’s Kandie Lagore says pledges are in and this year they have raised 9343 dollars. She says they’d like to thank the Victoria Inn for donating the prize for a weekend stay and the winner this year of that prize is Clara Yaworsky from The Pas and she raised over 3 thousand dollars.

Lagore had praise for the walkers, those who sponsored them and the Co-op for lunch.  The walk is held to raise awareness of those afflicted with drug and alcohol addictions as well as to support their programs based at Denare Beach.

 Committee: Dianne Russell, Greg East, Brenda Russell, Deanna Johnson, Karen MacKinnon, Colleen McKee.

The Canada 150 Homecoming officially kicked off yesterday afternoon at Tent Town across from the Whitney Forum.  Committee Co-Chair Colleen McKee praised both the committee and the community for their support.  She explains it started two years ago and they put together a committee and they have worked so hard.  People have come out of the woodwork and they put on events and anytime they just snapped their fingers people jumped up and said we can do this so here we are, we’ve got 24 hundred people registered for this event, everyone she sees is so happy to be home.  McKee added she thinks it’s just a thrill for everybody to be here and she is so proud of this community because they stepped up so Flin Flon, Creighton, Denare Beach this is your party so let’s get out at it.

350 people attended the first event the Seniors Remember When Come and Go yesterday and events continue right through today, tomorrow and Sunday.

The Manitoba RCMP Internet Child Exploitation Unit (ICE) received several complaints from the RCMP National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre regarding the accessing of child pornography in Flin Flon. On June 26 the ICE Unit, the Integrated Tech Crime Unit and Flin Flon RCMP executed a search warrant at a residence in Flin Flon, and a 19-year-old man was arrested.

He has been charged with Accessing Child Pornography, Possessing Child Pornograpy and two counts of breach of probation.  He was to appear in The Pas Provincial Court yesterday.

The Flin Flon Fire Department invites you to the Fire Hall tomorrow.  Fire Chief Chad Cooper says the Fire Department will be holding an open house from 11 to 4 and the Beat the Chief competition from 4 to 5:30.  Cooper invites everyone to come down and meet the firefighters and to watch the exciting firefighter competition that tests the skills and fitness of our local firefighters and shows the pride and dedication of the fire department.

The open house includes Sparky the fire dog, food, refreshments, fire hall tours and the fire and life safety education trailer for the kids.

 Joy Tetlock, Chelsey Dionne, Jody Korte,Michelle Rohlander, Cal Huntley, Brent Lethbridge, Lisa Laframboise, Mona Keyes.

CIBC has presented a cheque to the Northern Health Foundation.  The presentation Monday was for ten thousand dollars and Foundation Board Chair Brent Lethbridge praised CIBC for their support of the Emergency Room redevelopment project. He says it’s great to see the CIBC show up in true leadership fashion within our community.  He adds they understand our community has to move forward and this is a very important project for out town and he’s thrilled that the CIBC could step up with funds to support this very worthwhile project.

On hand for the presentation along with Lethbridge were Northern Health Region Board Chair Cal Huntley, Health Region Vice-President of Planning and Innovation Joy Tetlock and from CIBC their District General Manager Lisa Laframboise, local Manager Jody Korte and staff members Chelsey Dionne, Michele Rothlander and Mona Keyes.

Nine graduates from Many Faces Education Center in Flin Flon received their diplomas along with awards last night.

The Governor General’s Medallion was presented to Alex Harvie along with the UCN scholarship. Janice Bighetty received bursaries from the Women’s Resource Center, the Ladies Health Auxiliary and the Art Wahlenberg Memorial bursary,  Nicolas Cole Brooks the United Steelworkers Local 7106 and Flin Flon Motorcycle Association bursaries, Dawson James bursaries from the Flin Flon School Division and Manitoba Metis Federation, Brandon Powell the Tom Lindsey MLA and Cupe Local 228 bursaries, Matthew Bigetty the IBEW Lcoal 1405 and Tri-Service buraries and Many Faces Alumni bursaries went to Jared Broda, Gabriel McKenna and Taylor Zahayko.

Those bringing greetings spoke on the pride of parents, teachers and the students themselves in what they have accomplished.

Canada Day will be celebrated Saturday at the Creighton Ball Diamond.  Recreation Director Channa Senyk says it starts at one o’clock with opening ceremonies with the Royal Canadian Legion followed by other events. She says this year they have some wonderful stage entertainment with a new band coming from the city and in association with the Homecoming they have family events, kids races, three legged race, potato sack race, face painting, family tug of war, balloons, free ice cream and free cupcakes.

Senyk invites everyone to come out to Creighton Saturday to celebrate Canada’s birthday.

Manitoba Public Insurance is shutting down offices at two locations in the province as part of its cost-saving measures.

Effective October 31st, the Pacific Avenue Service Centre in Winnipeg and the Flin Flon Claim Centre will close their doors.

M-P-I says employees of the Winnipeg outlet will be given jobs at other service centres and it's not expecting layoffs at the Flin Flon facility, but a company spokesman couldn't say what the staff there will be doing after the closure.

It's expected the shutdowns will save the Crown insurance company nearly 400-thousand dollars annually.

  The Flin Flon School Board met last night for their final meeting of the current school year.  Grade seven Ecole McIsaac School student Jarek Osika gave his presentation on his experience this past May in Regina at the Canada Wide Science Fair.  Over four hundred science students from across Canada were in the Queen City for the country’s most prestigious youth science fair.  Jarek’s project on his homemade radio telescope was selected from the regional presentations earlier this year.  Jarek is currently hard at work planning to improve his research for next year’s competitions.  The video presentation can be viewed on the 102.9 CFAR facebook page.

Superintendent Constance McLeese reported the Division will pilot a reading apprenticeship program.  Staff will be taking training courses to improve reading skills in grades five through eight.  The training is funded by the Minister of Education.  The Board would also like to thank Wings Over Kississing for the recent flights for all grade six students on June 21^st.  And in closing Board Chair Murray Skeavington congratulated this years graduates, wishing staff and students the best over summer.

  The Flin Flon Neighborhood Revitalization Corporation held their annual meeting Monday night.  Their Executive Director Laurence Gillespie says the main focus was on the current uncertainty surrounding the NRC systems in Manitoba and so there were a variety of strategies discussed to basically make haste to the provincial government as to why they should continue to fund their kind of organization. He says there was also a lot of discussion about how they need to do more about partnerships within the community so there were a lot ideas put forward for various projects they could undertake ideally in partnership with existing organizations such as the Friendship Center and other groups to work together on projects that would be consistent with the community priorities that the FFNRC has.

The Corporation is also looking for members to sit on their committee and if you are interested you can call Laurence at 204-687-6972, drop in to their office above Pharmasave or email ffnrc@mts.net.

  Sir Maurice Roche School students will gather Monday for a reunion.  One of the organizers Rob Schiefele says the school was located in the present St. Ann’s Church building.  He explains Sir Maurice Roche School started as a Catholic High School in 1958 and ran until 1972 however the last two or three years it was a junior high as opposed to a high school.  He noted when he says a Catholic school, probably 45 percent were non-Catholic while 55 percent were Catholic.

Schiefele says they are still taking registrations by calling him at 204-687-6468. He says they will gather for a mix and mingle event Monday afternoon from 1 to 4 in St. Ann’s Hall.

  Hapnot Collegiate’s graduating class of 2017 will be celebrating tomorrow.  Grad Committee Chair Bobbi Willets says the evening starts with the banquet and speeches at 4 o’clock followed by Convocation at the Whitney Forum.  She says about 6:30 the ceremony starts and it’ll start with the under grad awards and then the grads walk out and convocation will start and then they get ready for a walk down Main Street starting at 8:30.  She adds they will come back to the Whitney Forum right after the walk and do their grand march, they’ll do their first dance and they’ll get their formal grad pictures taken and then go home and get ready for the big grad social.

There are 55 graduates receiving their diplomas tomorrow evening.

The Chair of the Museum Board Tom Heine says they have worked hard to establish Flin Flon’s history with a special attraction.  He says the big exhibit this year is a loan from Manitoba Archives, the golden spike that was driven September 22^nd 1928 and it inaugurates the official opening, a commemoration of the opening of the railway from The Pas to Flin Flon.  He says without the railway Flin Flon wouldn’t have been built, it was critical to its development and continued to be until 1950 which was when the highway was opened between The Pas and Flin Flon.

You can head to the Museum to see the spike and all the other attractions Monday through Friday from 10 to 6 and Saturday and Sunday 1 to 4.  Private tours are available by calling Tom at 687-4433 or Bev at 271-1042.

  Flin Flon’s Many Faces Education Center will be holding their graduation tomorrow evening.  The Center’s Maureen Reagan says they are holding their graduation, convocation and the awards ceremony at Many Faces and the supper will be at 6:30 with the awards and convocation to follow at 7:30 and after everything is over with the awards they are going to go to Racks for an after party with friends and family.

Nine graduates will be receiving their diplomas during the graduation tomorrow.

The Norva Center on Green Street is presenting a Flin Flon Homecoming art exhibition until July 28^th.  The Center’s Manager Mike Spencer says they have had good participation in the exhibition inspired by the Flin Flon area.  He says they’ve got a whole bunch of good artwork that spans quite a time period in Flin Flon History.  He says they’ve got over 20 present and past artists and a broad selection of works and mediums and it’s going to be a wonderful exhibition so he hopes everybody gets a chance to come out and see it.

Spencer adds Norva will be open all Homecoming weekend and they also encourage people to come in and sign their guest book rock painting and buy raffle tickets on it for five dollars.

At their meeting Tuesday night Flin Flon City Council accepted the Fire Chiefs report for May.  It indicated ten calls during the month with 20 thousand dollars in losses. Mayor Cal Huntley reminds you not to take things for granted with smoking, extension cords, smoke detectors and overall fire safety.  Councilor Ken Pawlachuk also expressed concerns about the wiring in some of the older homes in our community.

Council gave final reading to a Cemetery bylaw amendment to set regulations for the spreading of ashes at the cemetery such as on a family member’s grave.  The bylaw allows for a 395 dollar perpetual care fee and a permit and provides a record of where the ashes were spread.

Councilor Colleen McKee on behalf of the Homecoming Committee complimented the Citizens on Patrol group for taking on the task of painting the 100 stairs at Rotary Park.  Mayor Huntley added his congratulations adding the removal they did of graffiti on the Rotary Park building. Both congratulated everyone helping clean up the community prior to Homecoming with McKee adding the community has a lot to be proud of.

Planning is well underway for the Trout Festival Homecoming Canada Day parade July 1^st sponsored by Northland Ford.  Their sales rep Doug Gourlay says to date they’ve got 18 floats and 9 classic cars entered so they still have a week and a half before the parade so any group or businesses or clubs and classic car owners shine up your cars and get your team together and build a float and let’s make it the biggest parade we’ve seen in ten years.

Parade entry forms are available at Northland Ford, 102.9 CFAR and the Reminder. This year’s theme is Home is Where the Heart Is.

The Central Canada Film Group continues their Films You Might Have Missed series tomorrow night.  The group’s Colin Davis says this is their last film of the year and they are going to be showing Slum Dog Millionaire which is based around the popular TV quiz show of the same name. He says the story takes place when the hero Jamal Malik finds himself as a contestant on the Indian version and finds himself being able to answer all the questions although he’s uneducated.  When accused of cheating we see in a series of flashbacks how Jamal’s life experiences made him knowledgeable enough to answer all the question.

Slum Dog Millionaire will be shown Friday night at 7:30 in the Hapnot Collegiate Theatre.  The film is free although there is a voluntary silver collection.

At their meeting last night Council passed on first reading only a bylaw to institute a curfew.  The curfew would come into effect for children 15 and under at 10:30 pm Sunday to Thursday and 11:59 pm Friday and Saturday until 6 am.  There have been concerns expressed about groups of children out on the streets late a night and the idea is to give the RCMP more tools to deal with children out late and to disperse groups of children and send them home.  Fines could be levied if a parent is found to be negligent in dealing with their children.  Council is asking for feedback on the idea before giving the bylaw final reading.

In other business Council gave first reading to an amendment to the Animal Control bylaw giving power to the Animal Control Officer to levy fines depending on the seriousness of an offence.

And Mayor Cal Huntley congratulated Councilor Karen MacKinnon on being re-elected as a northern rep with the Association of Manitoba Municipalities.

As part of the Canada 150 Homecoming Trout Festival Weekend you can be part of the 100 stairs challenge beside Rotary Park July 2nd.  Recreation Director Caitlin Bailey says you can challenge neighborhood against neighborhood or business against business in a race.  She explains it’s something they used to do for Trout Festival so they’re bringing it back this year for the Homecoming.  She adds they’re trying to see if they can get as many neighborhood teams battling it out against one another and you can register by calling the Aqua Center at 681-7540 or you can also register the day of at the pancake breakfast at Rotary Park at 8 am.

The challenge takes place Sunday, July 2^nd starting at 9 am at Rotary Park.  You can register as a team of four or as an individual to take part.

Bike Safety Week wrapped up Saskatchewan in May and this is Brain Injury Awareness Month.  The Saskatchewan Brain Injury Association continues to strive to prevent brain injuries and their Executive Director Glenda James says an important part of that is wearing bicycle helmets.  She explains brain injury is the number one killer and disabler of young people and that’s not just children and youth it’s people under 45 and so a helmet actually reduces the risk by as much as 88 percent of getting a serious brain injury so they’d really like to encourage people to invest the minimal cost of about 25 dollars and save them millions of dollars that a brain injury costs.

James adds what matters even more is peoples lives and their families lives are completely changed by a brain injury.  You can get more information by going to their website www.sbia.ca or www.braininjurycanada.ca.

The Cranberry Portage Heritage Museum and the Child Family Resource Center invite you to Canada 150 celebrations Friday and Saturday.  The Center’s Debbie McLauchlan says they start Friday with a cake decorating contest and cake walk at the Legion with fireworks at dusk. She says Saturday will be busy when they start off at 10 am with the Heritage canoe portage race and skills competition.  At 11:30 they have a parade to the Museum planned starting down at the Park.  Once they get to the Museum there’ll be a free fish fry lunch.  She says at one o’clock they’re doing the flag raising and O Canada with opening remarks.  At 1:30 there’s going to be the unveiling of a mural in the Museum and that’ll be followed up with Museum tours, musical entertainment and games and activities for kids.

  Author Harry Hobbs is launching a new novel tomorrow afternoon.  He says it’s called a Circle of Roots.  He explains it’s a novel about a person who is ashamed of her past and is sort of hiding from her family and the background she’s had and the circumstances in life change and she has to face up to all she’s been running away from.  He says that’s why its called a Circle of Roots because the idea of the story is you can try to run away from what’s happened in your life but usually it catches up to you in the end which is exactly what happens to the main character in his novel.

The book launch and signing takes place from 2 to 4 tomorrow afternoon at the Flin Flon Public Library.

Hobbs will have a second book launch at McNally Robinson at Grant Park in Winnipeg July 10^th at 7 pm.

Satori Resource has started diamond drilling at the Tartan Lake Gold Mine Project 12 kilometers northeast of Flin Flon.  Satori President and CEO Will Ansley says the initiation of the exploration program is an important step as they look to expand the existing high grade gold resource at Tartan Lake.

They report phase one will consist of approximately two thousand meters of drilling in six holes designed to step out from known mineralization and expand the resource in the main and south zones as well as increase their understanding of the structural and litho logical controls on mineralization and is expected to be completed in July.  Phase two will consist of another two thousand meters of drilling to follow up on the results of phase one and to investigate other high priority targets in proximity to known gold mineralization.

Youth in northern Manitoba dealing with a mental health or addictions crisis can now access the care and services they need at the newly opened Hope North Recovery Centre for Youth.

The new, 7.7-million dollar, 9,000-sq.-ft. facility is located near the Thompson General Hospital and next to the new Addictions Foundation of Manitoba residential treatment facility. Services at the facility include a four-bed crisis stabilization unit which will provide a secure place for youth undergoing a mental health crisis, including youth at risk for suicide, for up to one week; a two-bed addictions stabilization unit for youth who are severely and persistently abusing drugs and a base for mobile crisis and outreach services, which provide intervention and assessment for youth in Thompson and within a 110-kilometre radius.

Moffat Joe Brain

Smart and Caring and Youth in Philanthropy

Cheques from the Moffat Fund were presented to Snow Lake’s Joseph H. Kerr School for a garden project, Association for Community Living for a dishwasher and fridge, Simon House Bible Camp for sound baffles in their dining hall, Denare Beach Rec Board for accessible picnic tables, Norman Community Service for bathroom renovations, Northminster United Church for a handicap door opener, the Friendship Center for a Cultural and Connections project, the Rotary Club for roof repairs at Rotary Court, Freedom Outreach for a fridge and stove and Minor Hockey for bottle refilling stations at the Whitney Forum and Sportex.

From the Joe Brain Fund cheques went to the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation for a no sky roof and Citizens on Patrol for a shed and trailer.

From the Smart and Caring Fund cheques went to the Phantom Lake Golf Course for memorial bridges, the Saskatchewan Association for Community Living for Northern Partnerships for Inclusion, First Baptist Church for a stove and fridge, the Station Museum for display enhancement, the SPCA for their spay and neuter program and Frontier Collegiate in Cranberry Portage for their weight room and from Youth In Philanthropy to the SPCA for their empathy school program and the Arts Council for youth and family activities during Culture Days.

Twenty-Five graduates received their diplomas as Creighton Community School held their graduation ceremonies Friday night.

Thirty-Seven scholarships and bursaries were presented with the top award the Hudbay Scholarship for two thousand dollars a year for four years going to Aliece Angell who also received the Highest Academic award and a Creighton School Division scholarship for one thousand dollars for academics with the second going to Mady Simon who also received a Community School academics scholarship and the Town of Creighton bursary.  The Raymond Daneliuk Memorial Trades bursary went to Regan Schnieder.  Creighton Community School scholarships for one thousand dollars went to Hannah Olivier for athletics, Kaylee Banting the Aboriginal award, academics and the Arts bursary, Kayla Slater the Bev McCrimmon Citizenship bursary and Timothy Gunville for trades and technology.  The Fred and Pearl Schwaga scholarships for two thousand dollars each went to Evan Kryschuk and Kaylee Banting.

Speakers praised the students in achieving their goals and advising them to be prepared to embrace change as they move forward.

After at least two years of preparation the Canada 150 Homecoming is coming up June 29^th to July 2^nd.  The Committee is urging local participants who have paid their 60 dollars to come and register early at the Uptown Curling Club Wednesday, June 28^th from 3 to 8. The Committee’s Brenda Russell says they are encouraging people to park at the back side of the Whitney Forum in the big Hudbay lot and there’ll be signs there to proceed through the Whitney Forum up into the curling club lounge and they’re hoping that this is going to speed up things for people and get the registration process going with early registrations.

You must attend registration in order to obtain your wrist bands.

General registration will take place the following Thursday, Friday and Saturday and again enter from the back of the Whitney Forum and don’t use the front parking lot as it is for General Hospital parking.

Lori Stevens,Kerri Wood, Amber Jessup, Kiele Kittle, Diane Therien,    

                                                   Corinne Mathews

Members of the Flin Flon Kinette Club visited a Hapnot Collegiate classroom yesterday afternoon to make a special presentation.  Their President Corinne Mathews explains the Club sponsored Kiele Kittle for the Kin Canada bursary from the Hal Rogers Endowment Fund and she will be the first student from Flin Flon to win this one thousand dollar bursary.

The Hal Rogers Endowment Bursary was created to honor the memory of Hal Rogers who founded Kin Canada in 1920 and to provide access for students to post secondary education.  Only 50 to 75 of these bursaries are presented across Canada each year.

 Batoche

A group of 34 grade six students from Creighton Community School took part in the school’s annual southern exposure trip last week.  Teacher Rod Walker says the students had a great trip. He says the highlights are always Batoche, the Science Center and the McKenzie Art Gallery and they always enjoy the RCMP Post in Regina and the Legislature building and their finale was the visit to a Hutterite colony.

Walker was on his 34^th trip and says the students again represented the school well during the trip and were good ambassadors for Creighton School with positive comments from all the places they visited.

In the House of Commons yesterday Churchill Keewatinook Aski MP Niki Ashton asked the government to show leadership in dealing with the crisis in Churchill. She said the community is suddenly isolated, businesses are hurting, people are hurting and we need immediate federal action.  She added what Churchill is facing is a national disgrace, our north deserves better asking will the federal government step in to address the immediate crisis and finally work to renationalize the Port and rail line and work with northern and Indigenous communities to get things moving again?

Transport Minister Marc Garneau told her a plan is being developed to make sure both the Port and airport are capable of addressing the needs with respect to resupply for the people of Churchill.

Flin Flon MLA Tom Lindsey has sent letters to the Premier of Manitoba and the Prime Minister urging both levels of government to act immediately to address the crisis in the Town of Churchill and the North resulting from the closure of the Omnitrax rail line.

Linsdsey says the residents of Churchill and other northern communities are running short of supplies and the region’s economy is in jeopardy adding they can’t afford the high cost of flying in supplies and they can’t wait a year for the rail line to be repaired.  He says the province and the federal government must act now to address this crisis.

Lindsey says in the short term the province and Ottawa must help offset the extra costs of flying in supplies to maintain the town, the region and their residents, in the long term, both levels of government must work together to nationalize the rail line and ensure that it is properly maintained and able to supply Churchill and the North.

Twenty-five students will receive their diplomas as Creighton Community School holds their graduation ceremony tomorrow night.  Principal Janel Pearson says they’re going to start supper at 5 o’clock at the Creighton Sportex.  Then they’re going to move into the grand march at about 6:30 and it’s going to be led by Mr. Walker and the bag pipes so you’ll be able to hear them before you see them.  She adds their ceremony will commence at 7 o’clock in their school gym.

The students will be holding their car parade through Creighton and Flin Flon this afternoon starting at 2:30.

National Aboriginal Day is being celebrated for the 17^th year at the Flin Flon Friendship Center Wednesday afternoon.  The Center’s Program Events Coordinator Jolene Gardiner says they will have food and entertainment with two headliners 0 Kilometers 2 MT from Duck Lake, Saskatchewan and The Country Rock Company from Saskatoon.  She adds the Flin Flon Fire Department is bringing a fire engine down for the kids, there’ll be a blood pressure clinic, kids face painting and free hamburgers, hot dogs and smokies for the first 600 people along with cake.

There will also be raffles, a toonie parade and 50-50 draw.  It runs from 3 to 8:30 in the Friendship Center parking lot on Church Street.

 Carson and Hunter Lee

The Board heard a presentation from this years school mentors.  The programs Linda Lowe reported they had 6 mentors who are extremely important in assisting teachers and staff in the elementary schools adding this is their 18^th year in the Division.  Each of the mentors outlined how they assisted students with their learning, their feelings at the progress made by students over the year and opportunities they had for training.

They also heard the highlights of a year in wrestling by Carson and Hunter Lee who wrestle with the Hapnot team and the Junior Huskies out of Saskatoon.  They won gold in regionals, provincials, nationals and team gold as well and went on to international competitions with Carson going on to Argentina for the Pan Am games.  They both plan on staying with wrestling with Hunter at the University of Saskatchewan and Carson working to join Team Canada.

Superintendent Constance McLeese noted all schools will have report card pickup on June 30^th with graduation for Many Faces Education Center June 28^th and Hapnot Collegiate June 29^th.

 Bob Lemke(NF),  Brooke Galiz (NF), Marsha Reeves(Aqua), Lindsay Shirran (Aqua), Doug Gourlay (NF), Kara Plamondon(Aqua), Cory Thompson(Aqua)

Northland Ford held their Drive One For Your Community June 3^rd to support the Community Aqua Center Committee with their fund raising for renovations at the Aqua Center.  Salesperson Doug Gourlay says for each test drive taken Ford of Canada donated 20 dollars to the project.  He reports there were 174 test drives resulting in 3480 dollars being turned over to the committee.

Northland Ford is planning to hold their Drive One For Your School on September 16^th to support McIsaac School projects.

  Citizen Services Officer with Service Canada Joe Buie spoke to the Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce yesterday about Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement.  He outlined who can apply, how to apply and required documents for those benefits.

Buie said the OAS is based on your income and is available to people 65 years or older.  Then there is an allowance that is payable to people aged 60 to 64 whose spouse or common law partner is receiving Old Age Security and qualifies for the Guaranteed Income Supplement.  He explained the Supplement is available to people receiving OAS and have an income lower than the eligible threshold.

              Information and application forms for these and other programs are available at the Service Canada Center on Main Street.

Also at the meeting the Chamber reported their annual radio auction raised 6869 dollars plus 250 dollars cash and it was reported the Library, Recycling Center and Flin Flon Neighborhood Revitalization are looking to hire summer students.

  In a recent corporate interview with Zimtu Capital Rockcliff Copper Corporation President Ken Lapierre said their ultimate goal is to become a mine finder.  He says they have been in the Flin Flon Snow Lake Mining Camp for ten years now and have spent 20 million dollars in exploration, drilling 80 thousand meters in a mining camp with excellent infrastructure including operating mines and mills. He notes they now control eight of the highest grade unmined base metal deposits in the Snow Lake mining camp.  Lapierre adds one of those deposits is nearing a production decision at the end of this year and if proven positive will generate a royalty stream of millions of dollars over its mine life to Rockcliff.  He says for the remainder of this year they will focus on drilling its highest grade Talbot copper deposit, its highest grade Bur zinc deposit and its highest grade Laguna gold property and is confident they will have positive results for 2017 and into 2018.

A special concert called The Men Behind the Music Genius and Drama is coming up Thursday night.  Local flutist Mikylo Odut says it will feature a special guest flutist Hayley Marie from Winnipeg and she presents music by three of the greatest geniuses of music in Jonathan Sebastian Bach, George Frederic Handel and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and she’ll be showing film segments between her playing.

The concert begins at 7:30 Thursday night at the Lutheran Church on Second Avenue. Tickets are available for 20 dollars by calling Mikylo at 204-271-3694 or going online to www.brownpapertickets.com or for 25 dollars at the door.

  Members of Flin Flon’s Citizens on Patrol Program began the removal of graffiti from the Rotary Park building Sunday.  Their Chairperson Sinclair James says for a clean up for the Homecoming they’re going to try to do some sandblasting on the Rotary Park building.  He says they were trying it out Sunday and it worked pretty good but they found with the humidity in the air its clogging up the line a bit.  He added they’re also going to start working on the hundred stairs project and they already have the stain and brushes for that and will start cleaning the graffiti off the rails and hopefully make it look good for the Homecoming.

James adds they will need some help painting the stairs and will put the word out when they are ready to start.

At approximately 1:30 Saturday morning Flin Flon RCMP responded to a house fire on Fifth Avenue.  The homeowner, a 44 year old man was able to escape the fire by jumping out of a window.  He remains in hospital in critical condition.  A 41 year old man was extracted by fire fighters and suffered minor injuries.  A 40 year old woman was found unresponsive in a bedroom and was transported to hospital where she succumbed to her injuries.

Names were not released.  Fire Chief Chad Cooper reports the cause of the fire was an overheated electrical socket.  Fire damage was contained to the kitchen.

Simon House Bible Camp is taking registrations for their summer camps.  Director Darrell Janzen says they have camps and fun activities for ages 6 up to 17 including a new feature this year a Gaga pit which is a really fun kind of fast paced pick up individual dodge ball style game.  He adds they have the regular favorites paddle boarding, canoeing, kayaking, archery, crafts and they’ll do some ukulele teaching this year so there’s all kinds of activities.

You can register or find out more about the camps online at www.simonhouse.ca or call 204-687-3340 and they also have financial assistance through the Sunshine Fund for those who need it so all children have a chance to attend camp.

The University of Manitoba is again sponsoring a Kid-netic Energy Science and Engineering summer day camp in Flin Flon July 31^st to August 4^th at McIsaac School.  Jill Lautenschlager with Women in Science and Engineering at the University says they operate on daily themes.  This year they are going to have Space Discovery Day on Monday, Medical Science on Tuesday, Mining on Wednesday, Sustainability on Thursday and they finish off with Genetics.  She adds they are looking for boys and girls who are in grades 4 to 6 or are ages 9 to 12 by the end of the year.

The registration fee is 110 dollars with forms available online at www.wisekidneticenergy.ca or by calling 1-800-432-1960 extension 9340.

People in Churchill, Manitoba are bracing for higher prices for food and other goods as well as a big hit to the tourism industry.  Rail service to the remote community has been suspended until winter due to damage from spring flooding.  That means goods and people must now travel by air. A hotel owner in the town Belinda Fitzpatrick says she expects some guests who were planning to come by train will cancel instead of paying more to fly.  She says it’s really unfortunate with the Canada 150 celebrations they were really looking forward to a bumper of a year, it was going to be really busy but hopefully they can still try and save some of that.

The Emergency Measures Organization of Manitoba Infrastructure has assembled a team to co-ordinate provincial support.  Senior provincial officials have met with Churchill Mayor Michael Spence and are engaged with community groups and businesses in the region and the province has been advised that Calm Air will be providing freight service twice a week from Thompson to Churchill.

At their 19^th annual meeting last night the Women’s Resource Center’s Executive Director Colleen Arnold reported they continue to provide public education and awareness.  She adds they are very pleased to see all the community support in their effort to end violence against women and girls and are open to new ideas.

Programs and events over the past year included support groups, Women Rising and Empowerment workshop, the Vagina Monologues and Vulvapalooza, Dudez Day, Voices of Thunder Concert, Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Take Back the Night, Candle Vigil, Women’s Memorial March and Red Dress Project, International Women’s Week and the Jail & Bail fund raiser.

Shelly Craig and Linda Eryou were returned to the Board for three year terms, Gail Griffiths for a two year term, Doreen Roman was elected to a one year term and there are two one year positions open on the Board.

At approximately 3 o’clock last Friday afternoon Creighton RCMP responded to multiple complaints of a man assaulting individuals and breaking into residences in Denare Beach. The RCMP report investigators have determined a suspect was in a residence where he assaulted the home owner.  He then broke into a neighboring residence where he stole some property.  He left and approached a man traveling on an ATV.  He attempted to steal the ATV but the driver was able to remove the keys, entered a neighboring residence and locked the door.  They report the suspect broke into this residence and assaulted the ATV driver.  A man passing by in a vehicle stopped to provide assistance and the suspect attempted to steal his vehicle. All of these events took place within ten minutes.

Members from Creighton and Flin Flon RCMP arrived and took the suspect who was being restrained by community members into custody. The three homeowners, the suspect and two RCMP members were taken to hospital for treatment                                               

A 27 year old Flin Flon man has been charged with attempted murder, possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose, robbery, break and enter, resisting arrest, several assault charges, uttering threats, mischief and theft under five thousand dollars. He will appear in court in Creighton Tuesday.

Hudbay has announced that the U.S. Forest Service has issued the Final Record of Decision for their Rosemont Copper Project in Arizona.  They report receiving this decision concludes a thorough process involving 17 co-operating agencies at various levels of government, 16 hearings, over 1 thousand studies and 245 days of public comment resulting in more than 36 thousand comments.  Hudbay will now begin the administrative process working with the U.S. Forest Service to complete the Mine Plan of operations over the next several months.  The other key federal permit outstanding is the Water Permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Patrick Merrin, Vice-President of Hudbay’s Arizona Business unit says this decision brings them another step closer to being able to build a modern mine that will fulfill the requirements of its permits, create jobs and strengthen the local economy.

At the Flin Flon City Council meeting Tuesday night Councilor Bill Hanson asked young people racing their quads around Channing Drive to stop.  He said 99 percent of riders are fine but some are traveling at high speeds in areas where young children are out playing.  Mayor Cal Huntley said there are designated areas to accommodate people riding quads and dirt bikes to get in and out of the city and that is a privilege that can be removed if it’s abused.  Hanson noted in Canmore people breaking the quad and dirt bike laws have their machines taken away.

In other news Council approved paying 1450 dollars as their share of the cost of the Main Street flowers cost shared with Hudbay and the Flin Flon Neighborhood Revitalization Corporation, 13 hundred dollars to the Flinty Committee for Boardwalk maintenance and 1 thousand dollars to the Fireworks Committee.

The Women’s Resource Center is presenting a new program on self-awareness starting next week. The Center’s Carmen Fisher explains the program touches on different topics like negative and positive behaviors, aggressive and assertive behavior, boundaries, being alone, financial awareness, goals, health and mental health.

The self-awareness program starts Wednesday evening from 6 to 8 upstairs at the Women’s Resource Center at 60 Hapnot Street and runs until August 2^nd.  To register or for more information you can call Carmen at 204-681-3105.

A group of Hapnot Collegiate students is taking part in a 20 Time Project and want to share their ideas with you.  Teacher Daniel Dillon explains the Project provides students with 20 percent of their time to work on a project of their choice.  He says in his class he gives the students time that ends up being an hour to pick a topic. He says they start at the beginning of the year and there’s a structure every Friday that they work through for them to explore a specific area that they’re interested in and link it to the curriculum and this way they kids are able to see how school connects to their lives through these projects so in the end they need to do the research, they need to create something and then need to present it to the community.

Some of the 20 Time Projects include learning languages, starting businesses and looking at careers.  The presentation will run next Wednesday and Thursday evenings from 6 to 8 in the Hapnot Collegiate Theatre and it is free to attend.

The Flin Flon Pride Committee approached City Council last night on their plans to bring their first pride event to the city August 18^th and 19^th.  They plan a flag raising at city hall with various dignitaries invited, a proclamation by the Mayor, a parade and invitations to Snow Lake and The Pas to attend.  Mayor Cal Huntley said they are good to go with the flag raising and proclamation telling the group to co-ordinate their other events with the Social and Recreation Committees.

In other business Council gave first reading to an amendment to the cemetery bylaw that will allow the spreading of ashes at the cemetery such as on a family member’s grave.  The bylaw allows for a 395 dollar perpetual care fee and permit, structure for the spreading of ashes and provides a record of where the ashes were spread.

Mayor Huntley congratulated Councilor Tim Babcock on being elected Vice –Governor for the Kinsmen at the recent Convention in The Pas and Holly Babcock on being named the outstanding Deputy Governor for Kinettes in the north for last year’s term.

A small red fruit called lingonberries found growing in the wild in northern regions of Canada has the potential to become a valuable crop for Canadian growers.                                

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada report the lingonberry found in northern Manitoba is closely related to the blueberry and cranberry which are also high in anti-oxidants adding the benefits of lingonberries and their juice may go even further with preliminary studies suggesting there is potential to help prevent weight gain, high sugar and cholesterol levels. As well new research from Dr. Chris Siow who is a principal investigator with the Canadian Center for Agri-Food Research in Health and Medicine at St. Boniface Hospital is showing that lingonberries may also contribute to healthy kidneys.

Dr. Siow says they plan to continue with their studies along with other studies across the country to validate early results adding the berries will also be of interest to growers as they may provide new business opportunities.

Freedom Outreach is holding a Fathers Day brunch on Sunday, June 18^th  to support their programs at Denare Beach.  Heather Lowe says their tickets are 15 dollars for adults and 10 dollars for ten and under and they have a great menu with pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon, soup, buns, several salads and vegetables, roast beef and ham, coffee, tea and desert.

Freedom Outreach will also be featuring a kayak raffle with tickets at five dollars each.  The Brunch takes place Sunday, June 18^th from 12 to 2:30 at the Creighton Community Hall with brunch and raffle tickets available at Di’s, Eddies, the Orange Toad, Northern Rainbows End and the Gateway.

The NDP is calling on the Pallister government to ensure the town of Churchill and other remote communities cut off by flooding receive critical food and medical supplies by air until the train can reach them again.

Flin Flon MLA Tom Lindsey says Churchill and other remote communities have not been getting their normal supplies since May 31^st when train service from Thompson was suspended after overland flooding closed the rail line.  Omnitrax is reported to have said it will take at least a month and perhaps longer to repair and reopen the line.

He adds with tourist season about to start Churchill will be hit yet again by the closure of the rail line and the province must work with Omnitrax and other levels of government to get the line open as quickly as possible.

Safe Work Manitoba will be part of a Northern Safety Forum being held in Flin Flon June 19^th.  Their Chief Operating Officer Jamie Hall says they are working with other partners on the overall strategy to reduce injury and illness in the workplace and a big part of that is safety certification but also how safety certified companies can get a 15 percent reduction in their WCB payments in 2018. He says they are going to present that overall strategy, they’re going to have some of their partners and they are pleased to be working with the Northern Mining Academy but they’ll also have Made Safe which is a manufacturing safety association and Manitoba Heavy Construction will be presenting as well and talking about some of the challenges and needs in the north as they look to roll out these strategic initiatives.

The Forum will take place Monday June 19^th at the UCN Regional Center at 4 Hart Avenue in Flin Flon from 2 to 4. You are asked to RSVP to sroth@safeworkmanitoba.ca by Monday.

The Flin Flon Chapter of Canadian Parents For French will the holding their second annual fun run Saturday.  One of the organizers Leah Stanley-Jones says they want everyone who likes to walk or run to join them at 8 Saturday morning. She says they have a 1k walk or run mostly for kids but they encourage parents and grandparents to go along and it’s a lot of fun.  She says they have a 5k race and a 10k race and it’s all starting at Ecole McIsaac School and most of it is along the walking path along Creekside and the 10k just hops onto the Ross Lake trail to the bottom of the stairs.

She says they have great sponsors and there’ll be a lot of prizes.  If you still need to register at 25 dollars for the 10 k walk or run, 15 for the 5k and 5 for the 1k you can do it before 8 o’clock Saturday or Friday from 4 to 6 in room 113 at Ecole McIsaac School and you can call 204-923-0271 for more information.

  The governments of Canada and Saskatchewan have announced funding for projects across the province from the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund.  The Town of Creighton will receive 1.75 million dollars under the Fund from the Federal Government and 875 thousand from the Province with the Town paying the remaining one twelfth of the project cost.

Two waterlines are being replaced along most of Creighton Avenue, one from the water treatment plant on King Crescent to the intake at Douglas Lake and the second from the booster station at the end of Main Street to the water treatment plant.

The Women’s Resource Center is again holding an event called Walk A Mile in Her Shoes.  Executive Director Colleen Arnold says men walk in red high heels to raise money and awareness.  She says it’s the International Men’s Walk to end violence against women and it’s not going to be easy walking in the shoes but its fun and it gets the community to talk about something that’s really difficult to talk about which is gender relations and sexual violence.  She says each walker has to raise a minimum of 75 dollars in pledges and they start at Pioneer Square, walk down Main Street to the Co-op and back down Hapnot to Pioneer Square.

The Walk takes place Thursday, June 29^th at 4 o’clock.  Pledge forms are available at the Women’s Resource Center and they have men’s shoe sizes 9 to 14 in red high heels along with t-shirts, a gift bag and posters to carry during the walk. For information or to have a pledge form sent you can call them at 204-681-3105.

Culture Days Dance Down Main Street

As the Legislature wound down last week Flin Flon MLA Tom Lindsey encouraged the Premier to explore Manitoba’s rural and northern festivals instead of jetting off to the tropics.  He suggested instead of just promoting the north, why not visit it adding in his own constituency the Flin Flon Trout Festival brings people together at the end of June for Main Street days and an incredible fish fry.  As fall sets in he added Culture Days ignites a celebration of northern art and heritage.  He said he truly hopes the Premier will attend one of these amazing events to understand what he’s missing by going down south.

Lindsey went on to suggest other northern MLAs would love to introduce the Premier to Opaswayak Indian Days in The Pas, Treaty and York Boat Days hosted by the Norway House Cree Nation and Nickel Days in Thompson.

  Flin Flon MLA and NDP Labor Critic Tom Lindsey introduced a proposal this week that if accepted would have seen the government establish in law the principle that a person who works full time should earn enough to live above the poverty line.  He said the minister should stand up today and say absolutely that’s a lofty goal, it’s the right goal, it’s the goal that any caring government would stand up and support, it’s the goal that any caring individual would stand up and support, so he looks forward to this minister and this government standing up saying yes we will support this amendment, yes we believe that hard working Manitobans should live above the poverty line.

In a release the NDP stated their disappointment that the government refused to accept the proposal and instead imposed a minimum wage increase of only 15 cents that won’t kick in until October 1^st.

Denare Beach is holding their annual community yard sale tomorrow.  Recreation Director Crystal Banting says there’ll be a lot for sale.  She says they have 27 advertised yard sales but there are a few more so there’s lots out there so it’s definitely worth the drive out.  She notes there’s going to be a barbeque at New Horizons which is 2100 Spruce Street from 10am to 3pm so when you’re out garage saleing make sure you stop by there for a bite to eat.

Banting adds they’ll have maps with all the locations of sales available at The Alpine and New Horizons.

The Women’s Resource Center is holding a Girlz Day Out on Saturday, June 17^th.  Their Youth Counsellor Brennlee Anderson says the day will include prizes, a raffle, self care, health and leadership.  She says they’re going to have a women’s drum group as well as a youth drum group, they’re going to learn a bit about aboriginal culture, they’re going to do some kind of team building activities, there’s going to be a free lunch, they have Helga Bryant who’s the Chief Executive of the NHRA and she’s going to talk about how she got to where she is right now in her position and they have Flin Flon Yoga coming to provide a yoga session.

Grilz Day Out runs from 10 to 3 Saturday June 17^th with those taking part meeting at McIsaac School and taking a bus to Hammel Lake.  You can pick up permission forms by the 14^th at the elementary school offices.

Lindsey told the Legislature this week Manitoba communities are feeling the impact of flooding and forest fires and the north continues to bear the brunt of these natural disasters. He says ice jamming on northern rivers and overland flooding have disrupted the lives of many communities who have to face property damage and undergo evacuations.  He noted flood damage has left the rail line to Churchill out of commission and has made the town somewhat inaccessible other than by air.  Lindsey adds fire activity is always a risk in Northern Manitoba and forest fire conditions can become extreme and cause fires to spread quickly, become out of control and threaten our northern communities.

Lindsey also noted the quick response by the Emergency Measures Organization in repairing the flood damage done on highway 391 for the people of Lynn Lake and Thompson.  He told the government we need to find long term solutions for prevention and protection measures for both flooding and forest fires and we need to ensure that supplies are getting to all communities impacted by flood and fire damage.

Music Director Susan Fulford will present a celebration of our talented young musicians in concert Sunday night.  Fulford says the concert is titled Rise Above and you’ll hear pianists, vocalists and the vocal ensemble Kaleidscope and our well know Mikylo Odut on flute.  She adds they are very fortunate to also have some guest artists in Kari Rutherford who is a vocal major at Brandon University and Sam Dufour who studied jazz piano at Brandon University.

The concert takes place Sunday night at 7:30 in the Lutheran Church on Second Avenue with admission being a donation.

  Flin Flon’s Inner Wheel Club is holding their annual Car Boot Sale Saturday.  The Club’s Agnes Mills says they already have 20 people selling from the boot of their car, their truck or on tables and the Inner Wheel have a booth there also where they sell and everything that they make on their sales is all donated to local charities.  She adds the Rotary Club is going to be there making French fries and they are selling hot dogs, smokies, hamburgers and drinks.

The sale runs from 10 to 1 Saturday at the Victoria Inn parking lot and there’s still room for more sellers. You can call Agnes at 687-8204 to book a space for 15 dollars.