Local News Archives for 2017-09

Support Has Been Coming in for Breast Cancer Research.

 

 

The annual CIBC Run For The Cure is taking place in Flin Flon to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer research.  Due to their small numbers the staff at CIBC changed plans from holding the walk usually held.  Instead they have been fund raising at the branch through the past week and they held a large bake sale last Friday.

             

You can still drop into the branch and make a donation to Run For The Cure to the tellers or purchase a two dollar button.

Writers Have a Role to Play During Culture Days.

 

The Flin Flon Writers Guild invites all writers in the area to be part of Culture Days.  The group’s Harry Hobbs says they will have an open mike tomorrow evening and people are invited to come out and read something they’ve written and it can be from 3 to 5 minutes depending on the number of people they have and also if you like to hear people read and you want to hear what is being written in our community please come out and listen.  He adds reading can be poetry, prose, something that you’ve written and would like to share and show off our varied culture and the varied skill of the writers in this great community.

             

The writers open mike will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 tomorrow evening in the Seniors Room at the Flin Flon Community Hall.

Far Resources has Increased its Total Lithium Property Near Snow Lake.

Far Zoro Property

 

Far Resources has entered into an option agreement with Strider Resources. Far will acquire an undivided 100 percent interest in highly prospective ground contiguous to its Zoro One claim and the claims hosting the historic Thompson Brothers lithium bearing pegmatite dyke near Snow Lake.

             

Far CEO Keith Anderson says with this acquisition they now hold all the land between Zoro and Thompson Brothers.  He says both of these properties host historical resources which are the subject of ongoing exploration while the area in between has received little exploration.  With the positive results received so far from their Zoro property and others nearby they look forward to exploring the newly acquired claims.  Anderson adds the current drill program at Zoro will be followed by additional surface exploration on all their optioned ground to determine the potential for a mineable resource.

 

Students at Creighton School are Wearing Orange Today.

 

Creighton Community School is recognizing Orange Shirt Day today.  Their School Coordinator Carol Sutherland explains Orange Shirt Day is a legacy of the St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School commemoration held in William’s Lake in the spring of 2013. She says it grew out of a survivor’s story of having her shirt taken away on her first day of school and it has become an opportunity to discuss all aspects of Residential Schools annually.  She adds Orange Shirt Day is an opportunity for First Nations, local governments, schools and communities to come together in the spirit of reconciliation and hope for generations of children to come.

             

Staff and students are encouraged to join in on the national event in which every Canadian is encouraged to wear an orange shirt in the spirit of healing and reconciliation.

 

There is Another Benefit to the Driver Education Program.

 

CAA Manitoba and Manitoba Public Insurance have announced that CAA will give a free one year membership to graduates of the High School Driver Education Program administered by MPI.  Every student who successfully completes all phases of the program can enroll online for a new category of membership created especially for graduates.  It includes one emergency road service call with a tow of up to 160 kilometers, plus all the exclusive CAA Rewards partner savings, travel discounts and other perks of a CAA classic membership.

             

CAA Manitoba President Mike Mager says better trained drivers mean safe roads for everyone and with this Manitoba membership novice drivers and their parents can feel protected with the peace of mind that they’re covered if a problem occurs so they can focus on the road rather than worrying about what to do in the event of a stall or flat tire.

Education and Awareness Can Lead to Reconciliation.

             

The National Lead for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation Kevin Lamoureux spoke to Flin Flon and Creighton students and school staff yesterday afternoon.  Lamoureaux says young people have a role to play in reconciliation as they have an incredible ability to create change.  He adds many of the 94 calls for action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission are based on education and awareness. He says Canada is a good place full of good people. He explains most of the racism that he encounters isn’t genuine racism, it’s simply ignorance and when he says ignorance he just means lack of understanding, he doesn’t mean it in a mean spirited sense he means a lack of awareness.  He says that’s something many of us inherited, this phenomenon where we didn’t learn all of our history or all of what it means to be a Canadian and that’s okay, if lack of education is the problem then education is the answer and we see evidence of that in Flin Flon School Division.

             

Lamoureax says young people have a huge role to play in navigating some of the difficult questions around reconciliation and he sees education and awareness happening.

 

A Drill Program Begins Soon Near Snow Lake.

 

 

Rockcliff Resources has announced a first phase drill program on their Bur Zinc Property will start in October.  The fully permitted drill program is planned to include between 10 and 15 holes totaling approximately 3 thousand meters. This property is part of Rockcliff’s Manitoba property portfolio located in the Snow Lake Mining Camp.

             

Rockcliff’s President Ken Lapierre says the Bur zinc deposit is one of the highest grade undeveloped zinc rich deposits in the Flin Flon Snow Lake mining camp within trucking distance to an operating base metal mill facility.  He says the drilling program is designed to identify additional zinc rich mineralization along strike and depth to the existing historical Bur Zinc deposit.  He adds they are confident that this first phase drill program will be successful in achieving their goal of advancing this high grade zinc asset.

 

You Can Update Your Work Skills.

 

 

The Employment Links Development Center is beginning a new program in October.

The Center’s Barb Link explains they are now offering the Focus on Employment Program in which they do an intake with people, they talk about what their wants or needs are and set up a plan of what they need to get them back to work or into the workforce or back in school so they will pick and choose workshops, the presenters, the certificates that they need and the Center will have a calendar set up that they know the dates they need to be there to be signed up for different things and put them on the right foot going forward to meet their goals.

             

Link adds you can come into their office at 51 Main Street in early October when the first rotation begins or call them at 204-687-8791 for more information.

 

A Special Art Display Opens Later This Week.

 

Art works continue to come in for the Norva Center’s Square Foot fundraiser.  The Center’s Karen Clark says people have paid 25 dollars or 10 for youth for a square foot of canvas, done some type of art on it including a Lego work this year and returned it for display and sale.  She says this is one of their major fundraisers for the year and they’ve had an incredible response in terms of bringing in new art from local artists here and also from around the province of Saskatchewan as well because artists from all over the place are generous with their work and their rime and they’re grateful to them so they have some beautiful art work there.

             

The display was hung Sunday with the official opening on Thursday night at 7 with refreshments served at the Norva Center at 177 Green Street.  That night will also include the dedication of the community mosaic at the Center.  This is followed by three weeks of silent auction for the art works and then a live auction on October 15th.

 

New Resources Were Part of the Flin Flon School Board Meeting.

 

Last night during her report Superintendent Constance McCleese announced the Division will be purchasing resource material for grades four and five adding to the Division’s library of teaching resources for Indigenous education.  The Division has also received complimentary copies of the document Truth and Reconciliation: What Is It About from Manitoba Education and Training.  The collection of learning activities is to assist in implementing the theme of reconciliation into classrooms within the Division.

             

The Superintendent also announced that Anna Harrison, the Division’s Junior High Band Director has been recognized for her outstanding work throughout the province and community by the Manitoba Band Association.

             

The Manitoba Ministry of Education released their report regarding grade twelve provincial testing in math and English and our Division’s students have performed quite well.

             

It was also noted that Kevin Lamoureaux, Associate Vice-President for Indian Affairs will be speaking to high school students this morning and the staff from both Flin Flon and Creighton this afternoon at 1:30 at Hapnot Collegiate.  Everyone is encouraged to wear orange in honor of Orange Shirt Day.

 

Foster Families are Needed in Northeast Saskatchewan.

 

The Saskatchewan Foster Families Association is launching a public awareness campaign in northeast Saskatchewan to encourage interested individuals and families to consider fostering vulnerable infants and young children.

             

The Association launched the Foster New Beginnings campaign last year to raise awareness of the need for more foster families.  Their Executive Director Deb Davies says the initial campaigns targeted communities throughout Saskatchewan and as a result they have increased the number of foster families across the province.  However she adds there are babies and children in communities across northeast Saskatchewan that still need a safe and loving home. 

             

The Association has a world class training program to support interested people in becoming an approved foster home and they were the first province to offer this training online. For information you can call them at 1-800-667-7002 or visit their website at www.saskfosterfamilies.ca.

 

Creativity Will Be The Focus of an Upcoming Challenge.

 

 

The Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce met yesterday at the Friendship Center.  A number of topics were discussed including Community Futures Greenstone teaming up with the Flin Flon Recycling Center to bring a cardboard challenge to the community in October.  Becky Cianflone from Greenstone explains they are encouraging people to think more creatively and also to be more innovative and so they’re hosting an event where people can just build things out of cardboard like arcade games, hot wheels tracks, airplanes, whatever they see.  She adds it’s really a great opportunity to build creativity in our community.

             

You can enter as a team of 3 to 5 or enter individually for the event taking place October 14th at Ecole McIsaac School.  It’s free and you can get more information on their Facebook page.

             

The Chamber mentioned more events coming to town over the next few weeks including a Safe Manitoba workshop, Infusion Entrepreneurship Conference and Culture Days featuring over 100 events which will take place all over the community starting Friday.

You Can Talks to Books During Culture Days.

 

 

As part of Culture Days the Flin Flon Public Library is holding a wine and cheese evening featuring Human Books Friday.  Administrator Courtney Campbell explains they have six Human Books this year.  She says they have a theme that they’re going to speak on so people can just wander around really informally and just ask questions of the human books.  She says their human books this year are Kristy Janvier, Tarun Bablani, Elder Margaret Head-Steppan, Dennis Strom, Randy Whitbread and Pat Bruderer so they’ve got photographers, historians and a whole range of people so you can learn about different people in Flin Flon.

             

The Human Books will be available at the Library from 7 to 10 Friday night. Along with the wine and cheese they will have complimentary apple cider and snacks as weill as a babysitting service by donation.

 

Drilling Has Started on a Lithium Property.

 Far Resources Zoro Property

 

Far Resources has mobilized a drill to its Zoro Lithium Property in the Snow Lake area and reports coring is imminent. Acting on the recent drill permit awarded by Manitoba’s Office of Sustainable Development, the Company has mobilized a drill to the site of their first hole in a 700 meter drill program.  Gogal Air Services has helicoptered the drill to the area of Dyke one which is the target of this program.  Drilling was to start on Wednesday with the arrival of Far Resources technical team on the ground.

             

Far Resources President Keith Anderson notes samples collected from rock and soil surveys have now reached laboratories and will provide additional information on the lithium prospectivity at Zoro. He adds they are anxious to receive the new data as they progress towards further exploration and the assessment of lithium resources at Zoro.

Fire Conditions Continue to Stabilize in Northeast Saskatchewan.

 

  The Executive Director of Wildfire Management for Saskatchewan Steve Roberts reports significant rain has fallen in the Pelican Narrows area and that behavior significantly reduced the fire activity helping their crews on the ground to ensure things are secure in that area.  He says fire sizes for the Wilkins fire have not changed, it is still 59 hundred hectares, the Granite fire is about 30 percent contained and its 126 thousand hectares and the Preston fire is about 30 percent contained as well at 47 thousand hectares.  Roberts adds they will continue to work on the secure areas of the fires but they’ll also start critical work to do reclamation for where they had heavy equipment working on the fires.

             

The last of the residents evacuated from Pelican Narrows were expected to be home by late yesterday afternoon.  Crews are out repairing highways damaged by the fires and as the fires are still burning air quality in Pelican Narrows continues to be monitored.

 

 

Guest Speakers Will be Part of a Course Exploring the Future.

 Jon Allen

 

The North Central Canada Centre of Arts and Environment is holding a week of presentations in Flin Flon.  The group’s Crystal Kolt says it touches on the academic part of the project and is called Building Knowledge and they have keynote speakers coming from Canada as well as Jon Allen who’s an architect and a teacher at the Prince’s Foundation in London, England who will be coming here to work with the participants.  She says there are also guest speaking opportunities for the public to attend as well which is on the Tuesday and Thursday of next week.

             

For information on the presentations and the course visit their website www.ncccae.ca.

 

Your Test Drive Will Help Ecole McIsaac School.

 

  Northland Ford held their Drive One For Your School last Saturday to support McIsaac School Projects.  Salesperson Jacob Sherrington reports for each test drive of a Ford vehicle that day Ford of Canada and Northland Ford donated 20 dollars to the project. He says they had 136 drives in total so it was a good turnout and they got to meet a lot of people. He adds they had 2720 dollars worth of funding that came from the test drives that’s going to McIsaac School.

            

  Northland Ford Flin Flon has participated in the Drive One program for eight years raising in excess 36 thousand dollar in support of community initiatives.

 

Students Will Raise Awareness for Cancer Research.

 

  Two Terry Fox Runs will be held tomorrow.  The first will involve all students at McIsaac School weather permitting.  Phys Ed Supervisor Rob Abbott says the second is the annual walk and run for grade five students from McIsaac and Ruth Betts Schools and that group they’ll be taking out to the ski club on Friday afternoon starting at 1:30. He says they’re going to probably do about a three kilometer run or walk on the trails out there and they’re going to finish it off with some hot dogs, drinks, some granola bars and each participant will get a certificate.

             

Abbott adds if the wet weather has affected the trails at the Ski Club the run will be held Monday.

You and Your Family Can Enjoy Reading Together.

 

 

A new session of Read to Me is taking registrations.  Coordinator April Eardley invites you to join the fun at the eight week family literacy program. She explains each day will focus on a theme that will include books, games, songs, crafts and snacks.  She says this is an opportunity for pre-school children ages 3 to 5 and their parents or other adults to create a brighter future for learning.  She adds there is no cost to participate and no limit to how many sessions you can attend.

              Read to Me will run Tuesday and Wednesday mornings from 9 to 11:45 from October 3rd to November 22nd.  To register or for more information you can call April at 204-472-3939.

 

Good News for Pelican Narrows Residents.

 

Chief Peter E. Beatty of Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation has lifted the evacuation order for the remaining evacuees from Pelican Narrows. This includes approximately 700 remaining health priority evacuees and their families.

             

Emergency Services and Emergency Management and Fire Safety will continue to work with the community to ensure repatriation is safe and there are supplies necessary for communities still experiencing smoke in the region.

 

The Music of the Flute will be Featured Saturday Night.

 

 

Local musician Mikylo Odut will be featuring An Evening of Unaccompanied Flute Saturday night.  He says this time he is happy to have a singer with him whose name is Candia Cormack and he’s also happy to be playing one of the pieces nicknamed the most difficult piece to play for flute.  He adds he is going to be ending with that one, it’s one of his favorites.

             

The concert takes place Saturday night at 7:30 at the Lutheran Church at 20 Second Avenue. Advance tickets are available by calling 204-271-3694 or they will be at the door. Advance tickets are 15 dollars for adults, 10 for students and 5 for children and at the door they will be 18 dollars for adults, 12 for students and 6 for children.

 

The Smoking Bylaw is One Step Closer to Reality.

 

At their meeting last night Flin Flon City Council approved on first reading their smoking bylaw.  It will prohibit smoking within 5 meters or 16 feet of the doorway of any building open to the public.  It will receive second and third reading at their next meeting.  It will be enforced by the businesses themselves, the bylaw enforcement officer or possibly the RCMP.  Vaping has not yet been included in the bylaw but will be discussed by Council.

             

Council will take two opportunities to promote our community.  They agreed to purchase a half page ad in the Tourism Manitoba Inspiration Guide at a cost of 37 hundred dollars and will buy a sponsorship package for the 2017 Mining and Minerals Convention for up to 15 hundred dollars. Councilor Colleen McKee says it is important to continue to promote our community in the most positive way possible.

 

An Awareness Walk is Being Held Tomorrow.

 

The Flin Flon and Area Against Sexual Exploitation Committee invites you to their sixth annual Grandmother’s Walk tomorrow afternoon.  The Committee’s Christa McIntyre explains it was originally started by a Grandmother who wanted us to stand together and let it be known that children’s voices need to be heard, that they’re not alone and that they’re loved so we can join together, men, women, children, youth and we walk in solidarity to bring awareness to sexual exploitation and to held deliver the message that violations against our children must stop.

             

The event begins at 4 tomorrow afternoon with a pipe ceremony at Neighbors of The North Park near Super K.  At 5o’clock the Awareness Walk will go down Main Street to Pioneer Square where there will be free entertainment, food and refreshments.

 

You Are Invited to the Opening of a Household Hazardous Waste Service at the Landfill.

 

The Flin Flon Recycling Center and City of Flin Flon have announced the opening of the Household Hazardous Waste Depot at the Flin Flon landfill.  Administrator Deb Odegaard encourages community residents to bring their hazardous waste to the landfill.  She says it’s open to collect hazardous waste from households.  She explains hazardous waste is those items that have those stop signs with explosive or corrosive or poisonous, anything with those danger signs on them should be brought to the depot instead of being put into the regular garbage.  She adds this is going to be available year round and they will take the stuff from you and package it up and ship it off to Winnipeg where it’s taken care of in a responsible way so it doesn’t get into the environment.

             

Tipping fees will not be charged for vehicles that are bringing in only hazardous waste items. The depot is for household items only.

             

A grand opening will be held Saturday from 2 to 4 with tours of the depot.  Information brochures will be available at City Hall, the Recycling Center and at the event.

 

Saskatchewan Communities are Receiving Their Share of the Federal Gas Tax.

 

The Government of Canada has delivered the first of two 29.5 million dollar federal Gas Tax Fund installments to Saskatchewan for the 2017-18 fiscal year.  The funding flows through the provincial government to all of its municipalities on a per capita basis to support community infrastructure projects.

             

From this Fund the Town of Creighton receives just over 89 thousand dollars, the Village of Denare Beach just under 49 thousand and the City of Flin Flon for the Saskatchewan part just under 14 thousand dollars. 

             

A release states the Fund gives each community across Canada a permanent, predictable and indexed source of long term funding and communities can use the funds immediately on priority projects, bank the funds for later use, pool the dollars with other communities for shared infrastructure projects or use it to finance major infrastructure expenditures.

 

Nominations Close Monday for a Special Award.

 

The Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce and Community Futures Greenstone are asking for nominations for the Entrepreneur of the Year Award.  Chamber President Dianne Russell explains the things the committee will be looking at when you nominate a business including an established privately owned business serving the local area, contributing to the local business community and supporting the local business community themselves, showing intent to grow and showing outstanding contribution, commitment and leadership and the nominees do not have to have all of these things, you just send in the name and why you’re choosing that business.

             

You can send your nominations for Entrepreneur of the Year to admin@cfgreenstone.com.  The deadline is Monday and the award will be presented at a Celebrating Communities awards night October 25th.

 

Three Organizations Are Benefiting From Your Generosity.

 

The Flin Flon Fire Department held their annual Boot Drive on Third Avenue Friday, September 8th.  Fire Chief Chad Cooper says it was a great success.  He reports a total of 14,500 dollars was raised with this year’s donations going to the Flin Flon Aboriginal Friendship Center, Flin Flon Ski Club and the Manitoba Burn Center.  He says the Fire Department would like to thank the Flin Flon Scotia Bank branch for their continued support and their contribution of 4 thousand dollars.

             

Cooper adds it’s amazing how people in the community come together to help each other.

Drilling Takes Another Step Forward at a Lithium Project Near Snow Lake.

  Far Zoro Property

 

Far Resources reports they continue to advance exploration on its Zoro Lithium Property near Snow Lake.  They report Manitoba’s office of Sustainable Development has issued a drill and work permit for the drilling of 700 meters of core to assess segments of Dyke one where no modern drilling has take place.  The drill and crew are being mobilized to the site right now with helicopter assistance provided by Gogal Air Service.

             

Far Resources President Keith Anderson says these are exciting times as their drill program to assess Dyke one and their rock sampling program on Dykes two, three and four move forward rapidly.  He says add that to their currently ongoing soil geochemical survey and they look forward to a wealth of new data coming their way which will be used to prepare a technical report to assist in their decision making process for planned upcoming drill programs.

 

Programs Are Again Available for Pre-Schoolers.

 

The Flin Flon Friendship Center Aboriginal Headstart Program has started and is taking registrations for their fall program. The program’s Katie Kawerski says it’s a pre-school program for aboriginal children three to five years old and their families for two and a half hours in the morning and two and a half in the afternoon.  She explains they offer culture and language, teach them the Cree language and they have activities like making dream catchers, smudging, learning the animals is Cree and they also offer other activities such as art, science, math, outdoor activities, field trips and they offer activities for the parents.  She says they have teas, cooking circles and educational opportunities for parents as well.

             

Kawerski adds their afternoons are full but they have lots of room mornings for three year olds so you can register by calling Katie at 204-687-1311.

More People are Returning Home.

 

 

The Commissioner of Emergency Services for Saskatchewan Duane McKay reports there has been significant progress on fires and their impact on communities with cooler weather in the Pelican Narrows area.  That means more people can return to their communities.  He says we will see Jan Lake go back to their community and Tyrell Lake will also be allowed to go back today and they have a little bit of work in and around Birch Portage to clean up and then they hope by the end of today or early tomorrow those folks will be able to go home as well.

             

They join residents of Pelican Narrows and Sandy Bay who started returning earlier this week.  The Hanson Lake Road, highway 106 opened last night to the general public.

A Marriage Course is Open to Any Couples Interested.

 

A marriage course begins next week at Flin Flons Alliance Church.  One of the organizers Menno Giesbrecht says the course is for any couples whether they are married or not.  He explains it offers people the tools to strengthen their relationship, it talks about listening, where you come from like your background and what you bring into your marriage and how you can identify that and use it to strengthen you relationship. He adds its just a great course and everybody who is living together or married should take it at least once its so helpful, in fact they’ve had people who’ve taken it and it has saved their marriage.

             

The marriage course begins Monday at 7 at the Alliance Church.  To register or for more information you can call Menno at 204-687-6001.

 

You Can Support School Programs With a Test Drive.

 

Northland Ford is again sponsoring Drive One For Your School tomorrow to support Ecole McIsaac School.  Salesperson Jacob Sherrington says they will have vehicles at their Flin Flon dealership for you to test drive.  He says it’s on Saturday from 10am to 4pm and they’re looking at as many people who want to come down from the community but its one per household and they’re trying to raise about six thousand dollars altogether which is about half of what the school needs.

             

For every person who test drives a Ford vehicle Saturday Northland Ford and Ford of Canada will donate 20 dollars to the school.  You must be 18 years or older with a valid drivers licence.

             

Northland Ford Flin Flon has participated in the Drive One program for eight years raising in excess of 34,600 dollars to date in support of different community initiatives.

Creighton Town Council Had Their Bi-weekly Meeting Wednesday Night at Creighton Town Hall.

 

Among the highlights Councillor Collen Stallard mentioned that they are preparing for the opening of Black Bear Bike Park with the grand opening planned for October the 7th with a ribbon cutting ceremony and Grand opening at the old Collins Park location.

 

Mayor Bruce Fidler attended an Economic Development meeting in Regina which included many ministers from all over Saskatchewan who will be willing to help with information and ideas to help Creighton, Flin Flon and Denare Beach transition into a more diverse economy.

 

Fidler also wanted to ask for the public’s continued patience on the communities large water line and sewer replacement project which will continue for the next few weeks. Residents will have to continue watching for detours.

 

Creighton land fill dumping fees are going to be raised by 75% for non-residents and stay the same for residents. They will also not be accepting any more appliances and fridges until the freon has been removed.

The Town Of Creighton Continues to Provide Information on Wildfires.

 

  Creighton Mayor Bruce Fidler says since the wildfires in the Pelican Narrows area started its been tough with the Hanson Lake road closed for two and a half weeks and their staff has been kept busy. He says they get updates daily from the different agencies and the fire crews that are out there so they’re keeping everybody on top of it, all the information they get is going out on their Facebook page and on their website and everybody knows as much as they do and as soon as they hear anything they put it out there.

             

Fidler adds its good news people are again using the Hanson Lake road and that some residents are returning to Pelican Narrows.

 

Smoke Will Continue to be a Problem but the Highway is Open.

 

The Commissioner of Emergency Management for Saskatchewan Duane McKay reports fires in the Pelican Narrows area are a bit more stable now with the cooler weather.  He adds however they expect that though this is good for firefighting it will cause a bit of an inversion so they expect that smoke will be fairly dense in that area and certainly now that they are starting to move residents back to Pelican Narrows and Sandy Bay that’ll be a consideration.

             

Highway 106, the Hanson Lake Road opened last night for the general public except for residents of Birch Portage.

             

Wildlife Management reports the Wilkins Fire is contained and progress is being made on the Preston and Granite fires. People continue to return to Pelican Narrows and Sandy Bay and their next goal is to return people to Jan Lake as soon as conditions improve further.

 

 

Adult Classes are Getting Underway for Another Season.

 

The Community Adult Learning Center has started their new season.  The Center’s Heather Jobes says they offer a variety of courses. She asks do you need to upgrade your educational skills to further your studies in school or better your chances to become employable?  She explains the Community Adult Learning Center is open for another school year for adults 18 years and older offering adult learning programming in areas of literacy, math, computers, GED preparation and employability skills.  She says the Center is a certified GED testing Center for Flin Flon and surrounding area adding scheduling is flexible to meet your needs and their programming is free of charge.

             

The programs at the Center run from September to June from 8:30 to 4:30 Monday to Friday.  For information you can call 204-687-3223 or visit them on the lower level of the Co-op store on Main Street.

A New Rescue Truck is officially in Service.

 

 

Fire Chief Chad Cooper has announced a critical piece of firefighting equipment is in service and ready to serve the residents of Flin Flon.  Cooper says the fire department has been using its frontline fire engine to house all the structural and rescue equipment and it was overstocked and overweight so they purchased a rescue truck.  He explains the rescue truck will be fully equipped with rescue, structural firefighting and hazmat equipment.  Another feature of the truck he notes is the walk in body which allows the rescue truck to utilize as a mobile command post.  He adds the rescue has seating for nine firefighters which is valuable to getting firefighters to the emergency scene quickly and safely.

             

Rescue One is a 1996 Freightliner truck purchased from Hinton Fire Rescue in Hinton, Alberta.        

Some Pelican Narrows Residents Have Started Going Home.

 

Effective Wednesday afternoon Chief Peter A. Beatty rescinded the general evacuation order for the Pelican Narrows community.  Emergency Managements Steve Unrau says condition have improved noting a lack of direct fire threats to the access in and out of the community, lack of fire threats to the community itself or infrastructure around the community, air quality that is within acceptable limits and the fact that critical services such as health and power supplies will be in place when people arrive.

             

Due to continued air quality concerns this is valid only for the general community and priority 3 persons but the evacuation order remains in effect for priority 1 and 2 persons with health issues.

             

Although highway 106, the Hanson Lake Road remains closed escorts continue between Creighton and Highway 135 from 6 to 11 am and 6 to 9 pm Saskatchewan time as conditions allow so there may be wait times and no stops along the route.

             

Fire Management also reports no community structures have been lost due to the three fires in the Pelican Narrows area but some remote structures have been lost and owners have been notified.

 

Information and an Election Highlighted Last Nights Flin Flon School Board Meeting.

 

 

In her report Superintendent Constance McCleese said the Divisions website has been updated allowing parents, students and staff access to more Division information.  Feel free to explore the site at www.ffsd.mb.ca.  She also gave thanks to the Flin Flon Rotary Club for a welcome breakfast that opened the school year for staff which was followed by a resource fair and an informative presentation on internet safety from the Manitoba Teachers Society.

             

On September 27th the Division recognizes Orange Shirt Day and will be welcoming Member of Parliament Kevin Lamoureux to the community to speak to students at Hapnot and Creighton in the morning and the afternoon session will be open to the public at Hapnot Collegiate.

             

The Board also had nominations for position of Chair and Vice-Chair.  Trustee Amy Supergia Green has been elected the new Board Chair and trustee Leslie Fernandes will be Vice-Chair.

A Lot of People Walked and Raised Money Saturday.

 

The Relay For Life was held Saturday to raise money and awareness for the Cancer Society.  Chairperson Margot Gray says in spite of all the other activities that occurred in the community over the summer it went really well and they were quite pleased with the numbers.  She says the total to date is they raised 40 thousand dollars from the teams and the merchandise and luminaries and then they had about another 31 thousand dollars in corporate sponsorships and that so she thinks they did really well.

             

The Relay For Life was held Saturday with people collecting pledges and walking the track at Queen’s Park from 12 noon to midnight.

 

Our MLA Wants to see a Solution to Doctor Shortages.

 

Flin Flon MLA Tom Lindsey told the Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce yesterday he has been meeting with Northern Health Region CEO Helga Bryant to discuss doctor shortages in the Region including Flin Flon.  He explained the issue seems to be with how the contracts for doctors are negotiated and signed as they run out in June but new doctors aren’t available until September or October.  He says he doesn’t recall us ever being in a situation where there were notices going out that when you go to the clinic you may not actually see a doctor but maybe a nurse, a physicians assistant or maybe a locum so he thinks it’s been more critical this year.              Lindsey adds he has yet to see a plan for cutting the 6 million dollars from their budget as it hasn’t been approved yet and he will continue meeting with Bryant.  He mentioned issues he wants to deal with when the Legislature resumes including the increasing hydro rates, the closed Churchill rail line and jobs in the north.  Hudbay’s Richard Trudeau says they have been meeting with the provincial government to discuss job issues and the effect of increased hydro rates on their operation.

Fire Fighting Continues But There is A Travel Opportunity into Northeast Saskatchewan.

 

The Executive Manager for Wildfire Management Steve Roberts reports fire fighting continues to focus on the Pelican Narrows area.  He says they saw minimal fire activity and growth in the Wilkens fire which remains at 6 thousand hectares and the Preston fire which remains at 47 thousand hectares.  He says the Granite fire was active Monday afternoon on the east side and grew and is currently at 110 thousand hectares.

             

 Roberts adds the fire activity led to a recommended evacuation of Tyrell Lake Monday afternoon and residents are not to return until advised to do so.

             

Sask Highways advises people who want to travel will be escorted on highway 106, the Hanson Lake Road between Creighton and highway 135 from 6 am to 11 am and 6 pm and 9 pm Saskatchewan time as conditions allow so there may be a long wait at times.  There will be no stops along this route.

 

An Evacuation Order Has Been Updated for Tyrell Lake.

 

   The Saskatchewan Government has reported Tyrell Lake along the Hanson Lake Road, highway 106, had been impacted by the Granite Fire and late yesterday fire risk increased for the community and had an impact on road access.  The community issued an evacuation order and the majority of the approximately 20 residents self-evacuated to stay with friends and family.  The Hanson Lake Road remains closed.

 

You Can Enjoy a Night of Great Entertainment.

 

  The Habitat 53° Chapter of Habitat for Humanity is holding their coffee house Saturday night.  It’s a fund raiser to provide a family of low income with access to home ownership.  The Chapter’s Kathy McCormick says they have a great night of entertainment planned.  She explains the entertainers this year are Wade Lowe, Imrie Anna Jones, Holly Freeborn, Mikylo Odut, Ian Krieger and Chad Pab and they will also be serving fabulous desserts, coffee, tea, iced tea and they’re going to hold a 50-50 draw and a pick-a-prize.

             

The coffee house will be held in the Creighton Community Hall starting at 7 Saturday night.  Tickets are ten dollars and will be available at the door.  If you can donate a dessert please call Katie at 204-687-3935.

A Proposal to Redevelop Two Historical Gold Mines Has Moved to the Next Stage.

 

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency has started a federal environmental assessment for the proposed Lynn Lake Gold Project in northwestern Manitoba.  The Agency invites comments from the public and Indigenous groups until October 2nd on which aspects of the environment may be affected by this project and what should be examined during the assessment.

             

Alamos Gold is proposing the construction, operation, decommissioning and reclamation of an open pit gold mine and new metal mill located near Lynn Lake.  The Lynn Lake Gold Project would involve the redevelopment of two historical gold mines, the Gordon and MacLellan sites and have an ore input capacity of eight thousand tonnes per day over an eleven year period. Components would include new mine infrastructure, open pits, an access road, a central ore milling and processing plant, ore stockpiles and mine rock storage areas, and a tailings management facility.  For information google Lynn Lake Gold Project.

 

Alpha Invites You to Join Them Next Week.

 

The Alpha Course is starting a new session at the Flin Flon Alliance Church next Tuesday evening.  One of the organizers Don Melien says Alpha seeks to introduce the basics of Christian faith through a series of videos, talks and discussion.  He explains the course runs for ten weeks and starts at six o’clock every Tuesday with a wonderful dinner and ends at 9 o’clock sharp.  He says after dinner they watch a video and then break into groups to discuss the video adding each group has a leader and a helper to inspire questions, thoughts and ideas about what you observed in the video which allows them to hear different perspectives and views on Christianity but there’s no obligation for you to express your thoughts.

             

You’re invited to attend Alpha as it begins next Tuesday evening at 6 at the Alliance Church. There is no charge for the course and after this introduction you can decide if you want to take the course. To registers or for more information call the Church at 204-687-8498 or Don at 204-687-6777.

You and Your Employees Can Upgrade Communication Skills.

 

Workplace Education Manitoba is offering a no cost customer service workshop September 25th.  Northwestern WEST Center Training Coordinator Colleen McKee says it’s titled Creating the Right Message Using Essential Skills and is aimed at employers and employees. She explains it’s an opportunity for them to sit down and analyze the workplace message, are they sending out a clear and consistent message, are the employees they have carrying out the corporate message that they have intended.  She adds it’s an opportunity for workplaces to sit down and really look at how they’re impacting customers as they walk into their business and it also examines how they receive messages.

             

The workshop runs from 1 to 5 Monday, September 25th at the Flin Flon WEST Center at 51 Main Street.  To reserve a spot call 204-687-6443 and leave a message and you will be registered even if no one calls you back.

 

 

Parents and the Community Can Meet Teachers Wednesday Evening.

 

  Creighton Community School is holding its annual open house Wednesday evening.  School Coordinator Carol Sutherland invites parents, guardians and community members to come in and meet their staff, tour their school and join them for a complimentary light supper.  She adds transportation will be provided from Denare Beach with pick up at the Band Hall at 5:30, pick up at the Alpine at 5:40 and returning to Denare Beach at approximately 7:45 with a reminder all children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian and they look forward to seeing everyone there.

             

The open house runs from 6 to 8 Wednesday evening at Creighton Community School.

 

Flin Flons MLA is Calling for Action by the Premier.

 

 

MLA Tom Lindsey says Friday’s announcement by the Federal government is an important first step in providing real support that the people of Churchill have needed for over a year.  The Federal government announced Friday if Omnitrax refuses to maintain rail service to Churchill it will force the company to sell the rail line to a new owner.

             

Lindsey says what is needed now is a provincial partner and Premier Pallister needs to stop passing the buck and come to the table with real supports for the people of Churchill.  He says it’s about time both levels of government recognized the plight of Churchill and stepped up to ensure the rail line repairs begin immediately as the window to complete repairs is rapidly closing.

             

 Lindsey asks the Premier to pick up a phone and call the Mayor of Churchill and the Federal government so that the province assumes its rightful place in ensuring the viability of the Town of Churchill.

 

Flin Flon Army Cadets are Accepting Applications for Another Year of Training.

 

  The Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corp starts a new training year Monday night.  Captain Daryl Wilkinson says there’s a three way responsibility with cadets and that is to create good citizens, physical fitness and interest in the armed forces.  He explains army cadets is youth organization that offers adventures, some outdoor camping, navigation skills and physical fitness and is open to all youth from 12 to 18 years of age.

             

Wilkinson adds they also offer summer camp opportunities.

             

Any young people interested can drop in on their training Monday nights at 7 at the Flin Flon Community Hall or every second Thursday at the Legion Hall. If you have any questions you can call 306-688-7420 or 204-687-4809.

A Geophysical Survey Has Identified Gold Targets Near Snow Lake.

 

  Rockcliff Copper Corporation reports an airborne drone magnetometer survey has been completed at its high grade Laguna Gold Property near Snow Lake.  The survey has identified the Laguna Gold Mine Trend which is a minimum six kilometer long structurally complex geological environment associated with known surface exposed structurally controlled gold bearing quartz stockwork systems.  This property hosts the former Laguna gold mine which was Manitoba’s first and highest grade gold mine.  Intermittent gold mining between 1916 and 1939 produced over 60 thousand ounces of gold grading approximately 19 grams per tonne.

             

Rockcliff President Ken Lapierre says the potential for the discovery of additional gold bearing quartz vein stockworks within the Laguna Gold Mine Trend is considered excellent and represents the priority target at the property.

 

She Has Walked Most of the Distance it Takes to Get to Winnipeg.

 

    Inspired by her daughter’s treatment for ovarian cancer Paulette Adolphe collected pledges and walked 7 kilometers a night around Flin Flon to add up to the total kilometers to Winnipeg.  She says it went really well and she will now join her daughter’s team Amanda’s Roses to take part in the Ovarian Cancer Canada Walk of Hope.  She explains she walked for 89 days walking 755 kilometers so that leaves her 5 kilometers to reach her goal of 760 but she’s going to save that last 5 kilometers to walk with and for her daughter at the Ovarian Walk of Hope which is being held this Sunday in Winnipeg.

             

Adolphe adds she appreciates all the support she received during her walk noting she is in to the three thousand dollar range and also raised a lot of awareness because of the walk.

The Safe Boating Council Wants You to Be Extra Careful as We Approach the Fall Season.

 

When it comes to boating in the fall, Ian Gilson, the director of the Canadian Safe Boating Council, says you should be prepared for colder temperatures while on the water even if it’s a nice day. He explains the thing that people have to keep in mind is in the fall you can still get some really nice warm days and people are tending to go out in shorts and a t-shirt but the thing is the water has been cooled significantly and should you get into a situation where wake from another boat or waves kick up and you get swamped or into the water all of a sudden your 22 or 23 degree day goes into 14 and 15 degrees water and that can cause some problems.

Gilson says that while boating can help people see the best of Canada, you have to be careful.

Smoking, Fire Calls and School Were All Part of Tuesday Nights Flin Flon City Council Meeting.

 

City Council is still reviewing its smoking bylaw. The proposed bylaw would ban smoking on Main Street and adjoining streets and within 15 feet of the front of any commercial establishment.  Mayor Cal Huntley says they are still looking at the distance from business entrances where smoking will be banned and a possible designated smoking area on or near Main Street.

             

Council received the Fire Chiefs report for August indicating three incidents during the month.

             

Councilor Ken Pawlachuk reminds motorists with school back make sure you obey the 30 speed zones which are now in effect in school areas as the students are out and school buses are again running and obey the rules regarding school bus safety.  The Citizens on Patrol Program will have their speed monitoring sign in school zones.

             

Community Futures Greenstone advised Council they will again be hosting the Celebrating Communities Awards Evening October 25th.  The evening recognizes the important contribution of community volunteers and successful businesses in our communities.  Council will submit the names of two volunteers they would like to recognize that evening.

 

You Can Toss Your Change Into a Boot.

 

The Flin Flon Fire Departments annual Boot Drive is taking place tomorrow.  Fire Chief Chad Cooper says they will be supporting three organizations.  He says this year’s donations will be going towards the Firefighters Burn Fund, the Flin Flon Ski Club and the Friendship Center.  He adds the location will be on Third Avenue right across from KFC tomorrow from 9 to 5.

             

This is the 21st year for the Fire Departments Boot Drive. Last year they raised 15,300 dollars for the local SPCA.

Your Kids Can Attend a Fun Retreat This Weekend.

 

Simon House Bible Camp is holding a fall retreat Friday to Sunday.  Executive Director Darrell Janzen says it will be a fun weekend for ages 11to 17.  He says their weekend retreats are always a fun time for youth to come out, they’re a little bit more relaxed, a good time to start off the school year connecting with some of the friends perhaps they made over the summer.  He adds there’s lots of their usual activities, some big games going on and overall just a really fun time.

             

You can register or find more information by calling 204-687-3340 or visit their website at www.simonhouse.ca.  The cost is 82 dollars.

Flin Flon City Council is Again Looking at Seniors Housing.

 

  At their meeting last night Councilor Colleen McKee made a presentation to Council on behalf of the Seniors Housing Committee.  She explains they have put together a small group as its time to look at and gather new information on what the needs of the community are now.  She says they want to start by creating an opportunity for a town hall so people can come out and discuss their housing needs as well as doing some kind of a survey.  McKee adds the purpose of the presentation is to raise awareness and match potential investors and those in need, to gauge Council support and interest with regards to a town hall type of gathering and would consideration be given to hiring someone to gather the needs assessment data.  This assessment she says would give them ideas to move forward on not what the community wants but on what the community really needs. The next step will see the committee again meeting with Council who has agreed to support the committee to see what that support will actually look like.

 

Fire Fighters Continue to Work on Wildfires in Northeast Saskatchewan.

 

  The Executive Director for Wildfire Management Steve Roberts reports the majority of provincial resources are focused on three fires in this area the largest of which is the Granite Lake Fire.  He says it is currently 74 thousand hectares 14 kilometers southeast of Pelican Narrows, 1 kilometer east of Jan Lake and 35 kilometers northeast of Denare Beach.  Roberts says all residents of Jan Lake and Birch Portage have been evacuated due to the direct fire threat.  Highway 135 and highway 106 and Saskpower lines are threatened by this fire.  He reports Jan Lake, Birch Portage, Tyrell Lake, Sturgeon Wier, the Sasktel communications tower and other remote values are being protected with sprinkler units at this time.

             

Roberts adds the Preston Fire is about 31 thousand hectares three kilometers north of Pelican Narrows and the Wilkins Fire is about 6 thousand hectares 15 kilometers south of Pelican Narrows and 6 kilometers west of Jan Lake.  He says they have been successful at protecting values including infrastructure, homes and communities.

 

 

The N-D-P in Manitoba will have a new leader following their convention on September 16th.

Steve Ashton, Wab Kinew

 

The leader will be selected at a convention with delegates voting.

Manitoba N-D-P president David Woodbury explains there are three kinds of delegates.  First there’ll be those delegates who are elected representatives of their constituencies or the youth organization.  Second are delegates from affiliated organizations which are usually labor organizations and third are delegates who come from their provincial council and their elected MPs and MLAs.  He adds in any constituency the number of delegates that were chosen was based on their membership but how they were split up was based on the candidate they supported and the share of the vote that the candidate got from members of that constituency.

The next leader of the Manitoba N-D-P will either be Fort Rouge M-L-A Wab Kinew or former Thompson MLA Steve Ashton.

Your Art Work Can Support the Norva Centre.

 

 

You are invited to be part of a Square Foot fundraiser being held at the Northern Visual Art Centre later this month.  Summer student Pearl Tippett explains participants of all skill levels and mediums can enter.  She says everyone who enters will receive a canvas a square foot big and at the end of the period there will be there will be a silent auction and your choices are to either donate the money to Norva or take 50 percent of the profit for yourself.  She adds its 25 dollars for adults, 10 dollars for youth and 5 dollars for each additional canvas you want to have and once you have it it’s yours to do whatever you like with it.

             

The deadline to enter is September 15th.  The art works will be part of a silent auction the week of September 24th with select items going to the live auction on October 15th as a fundraiser to support the Norva Centre.  You can get more information at the Centre on Green Street, call them at 687-4273, visit their website www.norvacentre.com or find them on Facebook and Instagram.

 

The Alliance Church is Again Hosting a Global Leadership Summit.

 

  Menno Giesbrecht explains the summit is an opportunity to hear world class speakers. He says it’s for anyone who wants to become a better person.  He says he believes this conference will be beneficial to those in business but also for personal development.  He explains when we get fired up about something it has an effect on those around us and the speakers come from various backgrounds and have experienced ups and downs in their field of expertise.  Some are successful in their business and some are successful in other organizations.  What they have in common is dealing with organizations and dealing with people, they are sharing what they have learned and what works for them.  Giesbrecht adds people pay a lot of money and travel great distances to hear this quality of speakers that will be at the conference and their goal is to bring it to the people of Flin Flon at a very reasonable price.

             

The summit is run in 125 countries and is recorded in Chicago and sent out to communities like Flin Flon where it will run October 20th and 21st with the cost to register 149 dollars until September 19th when it goes up to 189. To register go to www.growingleadership.com/flinflon or call the Alliance Church for more information.

 

The Deadline is Close to Apply for a Grant Program that Supports Local Non-profit organizations.

 

 

The Neighborhood Renewal Fund has been re-opened by the Manitoba government under the Neighborhoods Alive program.  Their Planning and Project Officer Melissa Branconnier says it supports a broad range of locally planned projects.  She explains they’re basically focused on neighborhood renewal and capacity so they like to see projects that support and provide services to at risk marginalized populations or ones that need more services than most like seniors, youth, low income, newcomers and they like to see things where its positive community impact so beautification, places where there’s gatherings of people, environmentally friendly stuff, so they really are quite broad as long as it drives community renewal and revitalization.

             

The deadline for applications is September 11th with responses by the end of October and projects must be completed by March 31st.  To apply go to the Neighborhoods Alive website and click on the Neighborhood Renewal Fund.  If you have any questions contact Laurence Gillespie at the Flin Flon Neighborhood Revitalization Corporation at 204-687-6972 or call Melissa toll free at 1-855-644-0401.

 

The Relay for Life is a Week Away.

 

The Relay for Life is being held Saturday, September 9th from noon to midnight at Queen’s Park.  Participants collect pledges and walk the track to raise money and awareness for the Cancer Society.  The Committee’s Margot Gray says registration starts at 11:30 for survivors, teams, anybody coming in and she stresses you don’t have to be on a team you can just drop on by.  She says the survivor lap will probably be about 2 o’clock by the time all the dignitaries and that do their good wishes and greetings and again they’ll be piped in by Rod Walker.

             

The Relay continues with a great variety of activities until midnight.  To register or for more information go to www.flinflononline.com and click on the link or go to www.relayforlife.ca.

 

 

You Should Become Aware of School Speed Zones.

 

CAA Manitoba reminds you to slow down when driving through school zones as reduced school speed zone regulations come into effect today.  Although most kids don’t head back to school until after the long weekend their corporate manager of government and community relations  Liz Kulyk encourages motorists to take the next few days before school starts as a reminder to slow down and be alert in school zones.

             

CAA offers other tips for safer school zones including scan the road ahead for school buses and school zone signs, prepare to stop and adjust your speed whether you see kids or not.  Stop at least five meters behind a school bus with red lights flashing and don’t proceed until the bus’s stop sign is closed and the lights stop flashing.  And factor extra time to get to your destination as back to school brings increased traffic volumes.

 

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