RD Parker Collegiate will be hosting its annual year-end concerts this month.

The performances will include the 34th annual Cabaret, which will be June 4th at 7 PM at the Letkemann Theatre.

The Cabaret is held to honour the grade twelve students at the school, and will also be the final performances for the senior performance groups.

This year’s Cabaret will be Jungle-themed.

There will also be performances on June 11th, which will feature the grade six to nine jazz ensembles, and June 12th, which will be the final concert band performance of the year.

For more information on the year-end performances, listen to Thompson Today at 12:40 and 5:10.

The Canadian government has launched a strategy in order to invest in women-led businesses in Manitoba.

Terry Duguid, the MP for Winnipeg South, announced that Ottawa will be contributing over six-point-seven million dollars to 14 recipients in the province through the first ever Women Entrepreneurship Strategy.

The funding will support 15 projects to increase resources for women entrepreneurs, and help Manitoba women-led businesses grow, develop, and use innovative digital technologies and e-commerce tools, as well as access global markets.

The federal government’s Women Entrepreneurship Strategy is investing two billion dollars nationwide, in order to double the number of women-owned businesses by 2025.

Thompson RCMP responded to a number of stabbing incidents across the city.

Police located the first victim on Mystery Road, a 24 year-old male who suffered a stab wound.

It is believed the victim was stabbed by at least two teenagers, while other people from the same group watched the attack.

The second incident at the Homeless shelter is also believed to have involved two youths, who stabbed a 48 year man, and the third incident at Princeton Towers involved a 27 year old victim, who was stabbed by a group of youths multiple times.

During the same time, a security guard at a local hotel and an adult man walking in Deerwood Park reported being attacked by a group of youths, with the security guard reportedly seeing youths armed with knives.

Two of the men were transported to Winnipeg for further treatment, and are in stable condition.

Anyone with information about the incidents are asked to contact Thompson RCMP at 204-677-6909, or Crime Stoppers.

The Technician’s Competition award at the Manitoba Provincial Mine Rescue Competition went to Vale for the second year in a row.

The Vale Team’s technician, Rob Chuipka, received the Garnet Coulson Memorial Cup, which is awarded to the technician who shows the highest level of proficiency in preparing the BG Four breathing apparatus that is used for emergency situations.

The winners of the provincial competition are eligible to compete in the bi-annual National Western Region Mine Rescue Competition, which will be held in Fernie, BC later this September.

Vale will be hosting the 2020 Mine Rescue competition, which will take place on May 22 and 23 here in Thompson.

The Thompson Regional Airport will be getting funding to help protect from the impacts of perma-frost.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Affairs, Dan Vandal, announced that the Canadian Government will be giving 28 million dollars to the project, which is coming through the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund.

The new facilities will increase the community’s resilience to climate change, as well as increasing the economic diversification and growth by saving more than six dollars for every dollar spent in recovery and replacement costs.

The project will involve building a new air terminal west of the existing building, and will include three gates, security screening, groundside seating baggage carrousel, and ten check-in counters.

Thompson will be receiving one-point-seven million dollars over the next five years for programs to help reduce and prevent homelessness in the city.

The announcement of the funding through the federal government’s new homelessness initiative, called Reaching Home, was made by the Parliamentary Secretary of the Minister of Indigenous Affairs, Dan Vandal, at City Hall on Friday.

Vandal says Reaching Home will reinforce a community-based approach, and will continue to provide funding to municipalities to address local priorities.

The Reaching Home strategy will spend two-point-two billion dollars nation-wide to help fight homelessness in Canada.

NDP members in the Thompson Constituency have voted for who they want to represent the party in the upcoming provincial election.

Danielle Adams, who is currently a Constituency Assistant to MP Niki Ashton, beat out teacher and President of the Thompson Teachers Association, Cathy Pellizzaro, during the nomination meeting that took place on Saturday here in Thompson.

One hundred and ninety-one NDP members from across the constituency participated in the voting process.

The Thompson Constituency includes Churchill, Fox Lake, NCN, Nelson House, Wabowden, and Thompson

The City of Thompson will be supporting the lobbying efforts to incorporate Snopass with snowmobile registration.

City Council voted in favour of the resolution at Monday’s City Hall meeting, citing that incorporating the Snopass will help fund the maintenance of the designated trails, increase public safety, and increase tourism throughout the province.

Currently, there are over 35 thousand registered snowmobiles in the province, but there only around 19 thousand Snopass holders in Manitoba.

There will be an Open House to tour the MDS AeroTest Glacier facility this weekend.

The Open House will begin at 10 AM on Saturday and the tours will be approximately two hours.

There will be a shuttle bus that will pick up and drop off people at the City Centre Mall, with the last bus departing from the mall at 2:40.

Advanced tickets aren’t required, but people will be required to register when they board the shuttle to visit the facility.

The Glacier facility is used to test gas turbine engines in colder weather conditions.

Danielle Adams is seeking to be the NDP candidate in the Thompson constituency to bring strong representation to the North.

Adams said the Thompson constituency has a tradition of strong NDP representation. “With Steve Ashton as our MLA we had a strong NDP MLA who delivered for the North. We have lost that under the PC’s”.

Adams said the North needs an NDP MLA “who will keep in touch and represent all of our communities. Churchill, Gillam, Fox Lake, Ilford, War Lake, Pikwitonei, Thicket Portage, Wabowden, York Landing, Tataskweyak Cree Nation, Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation, Nelson House Community and Thompson all have unique concerns.”

“I am proud to have visited and connected with communities throughout our constituency. I am proud of the support I have received throughout the constituency.”

Adams has been active in the NDP serving on both the federal and provincial executives for more than a decade. She has been active in the community on the YWCA, Thompson Children’s World and Ski Club Boards. She has been the Constituency Assistant to Niki Ashton since 2009.

Adams stressed the need for a positive vision for the North. “We need investments in our communities, not cuts and privatization.”

Adams said that if nominated she will fight for: Real investments in economic development; Investments in infrastructure including upgrading existing roads and expanding road access; Provincial support for the Bay line and the Port of Churchill; Community based health care; Investments in education and support for our community based governance and teachers; Support for child care; Provincial funding for recreation including a new pool for Thompson. ´

´If elected my commitment is to keep in touch in between elections and to put the North first.”

The nomination is scheduled for this Saturday in Thompson.

Thompson RCMP is seeking the public’s assistance in locating 25-year-old Cody Kyle Merasty, who was last seen in Thompson in the evening of May 19, 2019.

Police are concerned about the well-being of Cody Merasty, who may be injured.

He is described as 5’10”, 190 pounds and was last seen wearing black pants and a white t-shirt.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Thompson RCMP at 204-677-6909 or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477, or submit a secure tip online at www.manitobacrimestoppers.com.

New body scanning technology that will keep drugs and other contraband out of Manitoba jails is now fully operational at correctional centres in Winnipeg, Brandon and The Pas.

The devices use very low x-ray doses to scan through the body to produce a skeletal image that can reveal foreign objects.

Officers can then confirm the presence of contraband on or inside the body and target interventions accordingly.

Justice Minister Cliff Cullen noted that investing in body scanning technology is expected to generate savings of approximately $740,000 in three years, and $440,000 per year each year after.

Facilities that use the technology report high volumes of contraband recovery, the province says, particularly in the period just after installation.

More time online and fewer classroom hours are part of changes coming to MPI’s driver education program.

The “Driver Z” program will launch as a pilot project in 20 high schools across the province with a full roll-out expected in the fall.

Changes include a reduction in classroom time from 34 hours to 20 hours and an increase in supervised in-car practice with a co-pilot from the current 24 hours to 45 hours.

Students will have to successfully complete 12 hours of online work before the first class.

Students will also receive feedback on instructor-led in-car lessons which is aimed at helping co-pilot practice time.

The Thompson Landfill will be extending their hours for the summer.

Mayor Colleen Smook explains.

“Basically we’re open on Saturdays now from 8 to 3:30. So you have to have your last load in there before 3:30 or you won’t get in. The hazardous waste days are Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and you can also take your electronics there, too, on those days.”

There will also be a free landfill day in the city for spring, which will be on June first.

However, for certain items that are tossed into the landfill, there will be a fee, as the mayor explains.

“The only charge there still will be is for mattresses and couches – 20 dollars – because we do have to pay to get them shredded, so there is a large cost.”

The War Amps are mailing out key tags to residence across Manitoba this month as a part of their 2019 Key Tag campaign.

The Key Tag Service was launched after the Second World War as way for war amputee vets to earn competitive wages, as well as providing a service to Canadians that would raise funds for the Association.

Each key tag has a confidentially coded number, so if you lose your keys, the finder can call the toll-free number on the back tag or place them in any mailbox, and The War Amps will return them to you, free of charge.

For more on The War Amps Key Tag Campaign, check out Thompson Today at 12:40 and 5:10 tomorrow.

Thompson MLA, Kelly Bindle, has proposed a resolution to recognize the importance of mining.

Bindle says mining is an integral part of both the provincial and global economy, as it provides valuable materials for agriculture, manufacturing, and electronic sectors in Manitoba.

Bindle notes that the province produces one-point-four billion dollars worth of mineral every year, and points out that the PC government is working on a mineral development protocol for promoting exploration and development investment.

He goes on to say that the province will ensure that indigenous communities benefit from mineral development while their treaty rights are protected.

An archiving workshop took place at the Thompson Public Library yesterday.

Titled, “Memento: Archiving Memory”, it was led by Cree filmmaker, Jennifer Dysart, who tells us about it here.

“For my workshop, I decided to give people the chance to share a personal memory related to an object of significance to them. And to help them tease out the important pieces of that memory so it can be recorded and then potentially shared with future generations later.”

The workshop was part of a nationwide project called Home Made Visible.   Dysart tells us about the components of the project.

“The first stage of it was asking Indigenous people and people of colour to digitize their home movies so they could be placed in the York University Library Archives. The goal of that is to re-imagine the future of archives so they’re not such stuffy, scarey institutional things.”

“The second part of the project was the commissioning of several artists to make either a film or an installation.”

“The third part is the tour, both the films to the different libraries across Canada and also the offering of workshops, generally on the topic of archives.”

The workshop Dysart presented was followed by the viewing of six short films, many of them inspired by the theme of archives.

Dysart says she has found inspiration for her film projects through the use of archived video footage.

The Manitoba Winter Games held in Thompson last year were a huge benefit to the city.

Thompson jumped in to replace Virden as the host due to a lack of volunteers in Virden.

Here Games’ co-chairs Murray Kissick and Sandra Ross-Hitch talk about the legacies left by the Games.

“So when you consider just roughly the 260-thousand of the physical legacy and the approximate 140-thousand financial, a $400-thousand legacy to Thompson and area. And then of course with the study - the impact study - of $1.1 million, so let’s just round it off to $1.5 million to the community in regards to hosting the Manitoba Games on very short notice.”

Kissick also talked about some of the Games’ physical legacies in a report presented to City Council at Monday’s meeting.

“Under Villages, the $32-thousand for the shower upgrades, that was value-in-kind from the School District of Mystery Lake. You can see yourself from the City of Thompson, one of those is bleachers for the Gordon Beard. You can see some of the Sport areas and what they received and the things that were left at the end of the Games and where they were dispersed. That is what we will submit to Sport Manitoba in regards to what is called our physical legacy.”

Ross-Hitch and Kissick said the final audit will likely be complete sometime this fall.

They said verifying the value-in-kind funding is one of the reasons the process has taken as long as it has.

Northern Juried Art Show Results #1 May 13/19 Thompson artists had a great showing at this year’s Northern Juried Art Show.

They claimed 15 prizes out of a possible 32.

In the Drawing and Printmaking category the top three prizes were claimed by Thompson residents.

First went to Emily Hayes, second to Jan Hall and third to Lisa Larocque.

The Sculpture category was also successful for Thompson, with first and third prizes awarded to Teresa Burrows and second to Lisa Larocque.

In the Fibre Arts category, Mabel Glaicar took first and Jan Hall took second. For the complete list of winners, go to thompsononline.ca.

Adira Carter claimed first place in the Youth Category and Larry Hall claimed third in the crafts category.

Anne Snihor won second in the water color division, and Veronica Buda  claimed second prize for photography and Hugh Fraser received an honorable mention.

Leigh Hall from Thompson also claimed an honorable mention in the painting category.

The complete list of winners is available here.

Painting

1 - Monique Rainville-Flin Flon
2  - James Dean-The Pas
3 - Laura   Bryson-Flin Flon
Honorable mention Leigh Hall -Thompson

Watercolor

1 -Elizabeth Fitzsimons-Flin Flon
2- Anne  Snihor-Thompson
3- Jan Modler - Creighton
Honorable mention-Linda Munro-Wanless

Drawing/Printmaking

1- Emily Hayes-Thompson
2- Jan Hall-Thompson
3- Lisa Larocque -Thompson
Hon mention-Rosemarie cabral Dos Anjos-Flin Flon

Crafts

1-Tamra Martin-Flin Flon
2 -Elaine Angelski-Denare Beach
3- Larry Hall-Thompson
Hon mention-Mike Spenser-Flin Flon

Fibre Arts

1 -Mabel Glaicar-Thompson
2- Jan Hall-Thompson
3- Patricia Evans-Flin Flon
Hon mention- Lorna Heuchert-Flin Flon

Photography

1- Brandy Bloxom-Denare Beach
2- Veronica Buda -Thompson
3- Anonymous -Thompson
Hon mention-Hugh Fraser-Thompson

Sculpture

1-Teresa Burrows-Thompson
2-Lisa Larocque -Thompson
3-Teresa Burrows-Thompson

Youth

1- Adira Carter -Thompson
2 -Braeden Tetlock-Flin Flon
3-Amelia Cooper-The Pas
Honorable mention- Myah Leclerc-Creighton

Special Theme Award

Brandy Bloxom-Creighton

The Peoples Choice award was given to Brandy Bloxom. 

The winner of the Quilt Raffle was Dale Larocque.

McHappy Day 2019 was a resounding success, according to local owner Brett O’Meara.

“It was our most successful day ever.    When I talk about success we had a record number of people out. So we had over 27-hundred transactions. That represents probably in the neighbourhood of 5-thousand people when you talk about families. We raised $8,000 to go towards Ronald McDonald Charities in Manitoba.”

McHappy Day is a fund raising initiative that takes place the first Wednesday in May all across Canada.

O’Meara says the money raised here is earmarked for use in Manitoba.

“That includes the house for sick children and their families. And, as well, as the hospital room which is more like a wing of the hospital where parents and children can go and take some time."

He added it provides “a real sense of community and fellowship.”

Twelve students of the Northern Social Work Program here in Thompson will be graduating tomorrow.

Colin Bonnycastle, who will be retiring as Director of the Program at the end of May, said the ceremonies will begin at 2 o’clock at the Thompson Regional Community Centre.

Bonnycastle has been involved with the program since 1998 and will complete his last year with the University of Manitoba at the campus in Winnipeg.

For more on Bonnycastle and his time here in Thompson, join 102.9 CHTM for Thompson Today tomorrow afternoon at 12:40 and 5:10.

A test of the Alert Ready system is scheduled for this afternoon at 1:55.

The test alert will be shared on TV, radio and wireless devices.

However, not all mobile phones may receive the test alert due to device compatibility, software and settings, connection to an LTE network or cell tower coverage.

These tests are aimed at teaching Canadians what an emergency alert will look and sound like in the event of life-threatening situations.

Since April 2018, more than 100 emergency alert messages have successfully been transmitted across Canada.

Today is McHappy Day all across Canada.

Here is local McDonald’s owner, Brett O’Meara, with his thoughts on the day.

“This is my favorite day of the year. It’s the day that we reach out to the community and we say come on in and support us. It’s a great cause. McHappy Day is about families and children. It’s going directly to the Ronald McDonald Charities of Manitoba.”

O’Meara explains the importance of Ronald McDonald Houses.

“One of the most important things in helping children recover and heal and face illness is keeping their family together, keeping that stress level down because families heal each other. That’s what the house is all about and it’s a great support network for families, especially from the north, and we just love supporting them every year.”

One dollar from every Big Mac, Happy Meal or hot drink sold goes to the Ronald McDonald House Charities.

There will also be draws to enter and merchandise to buy in support of McHappy Day.

If you have a child entering Kindergarten this fall, make sure you attend the Welcome to Kindergarten event at your local school.

Ashley Roberts, Vice-Principal at Ecole Riverside School, tells us about the purpose of the events.

“There are events held at each of the elementary schools throughout the month of June. It’s bringing the families into the school to meet their teachers and become familiar with the school they’re going to be attending in September.

During the events they’ll be rotating through a number of stations, focussing on kindergarten skills.”

They will be using scissors, listening to a story, building their name with letters and using play-doh for fine motor skills.

Roberts discusses some of benefits of attending the Welcome to Kindergarten sessions.

“Some of the benefits would be reducing the anxiety of coming into the new school for both the kids attending school in September as well as their parents. They’re going to get to know where their classroom is and the parents will be introduced to some skills they’re going to develop in kindergarten during the event.”

To find out about the date and time of the session in your catchment area, go to the school district’s website at mysterynet.mb.ca.

Get all the details on Welcome to Kindergarten by listening to the complete Thompson Today interview.

Go to thompsononline.ca under Home, click on Audio, then go to the podcast of your choice.

A longtime former Manitoba N-D-P cabinet minister is being barred from running for the party in the coming election, according to one of his supporters.

Steve Ashton held the Thompson seat for 35 years before losing to a Progressive Conservative in 2016.

Blair Hudson, a Thompson representative on the N-D-P's provincial council, says Ashton submitted a nomination bid for the upcoming election, but was rejected by the party's candidate selection committee.

Hudson says Ashton has an appeal hearing today before the party's executive.

Hudson says he believes the rejection is a sign of ongoing bitterness from the N-D-P leadership race in 2017, when Ashton finished second to Wab Kinew.

Ashton has not responded to requests for comment.

Officials at N-D-P headquarters would only say that the candidate selection process is done by an arm's-length group, not by the leader or other elected officials.

N-D-P provincial secretary Tim Johnson says the party cannot comment further, in order to respect the privacy of prospective candidates.

Over the last five years, 22 motorcyclists have been killed on Manitoba public roadways while another 700 have been injured.

With May being National Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, Manitoba Public Insurance is renewing its call to ‘Save The 100’ ? the average number of people killed yearly on Manitoba public roadways. I

n an effort to heighten road safety awareness between drivers of vehicles and motorcyclists, Manitoba’s public auto insurer recently launched a public awareness campaign “Watch For Motorcycles”.

“The focus of road safety remains saving the 100 and making Manitoba roadways safer,” said Satvir Jatana, vice-president responsible for Communications, Manitoba Public Insurance.

“Mutual respect on our roadways is paramount if we’re going to see a reduction in fatality numbers. Many of these deaths could have been prevented and were directly attributed to high-risk driving behaviour by either the motorist or motorcyclist.

” In order to heighten road safety awareness among both groups of vehicles, Manitoba’s auto insurer works closely with the Coalition of Manitoba Motorcycle Groups.

“It’s important that we change the conversation about traffic safety in our province and create a culture where all road users have mutual respect for each other,” said Jatana.

“For drivers this means acknowledging that motorcyclists have every right to use our roads safely, as do cyclists and pedestrians.”

SAFETY TIPS For Motorcyclists:

· Wear the right gear, including an approved safety helmet, eye protection, jacket, pants and boots.

· Try to be highly visible whenever possible by wearing bright or fluorescent colours such as yellow, red or orange to enhance visibility.

· Ride with your headlight on and in a position on the roadway where you are visible to motorists and out of their blind spots.

For Drivers:

· Always look twice when changing lanes and at intersections to be sure there isn’t a motorcycle or moped in the blind spot.

· Watch for signals. It may be hard to see a motorcycle or moped’s turning signal so watch for other signs like shoulder checking which can indicate the rider is planning to change lanes or turn.

· Keep your distance. Motorcycles and mopeds may stop faster than other vehicles. Maintain a following distance of at least four seconds and increase this distance at night or when it’s raining.

Vale’s Mine Rescue team will compete for Provincial honours at the Triple-7 mine in Flin Flon on May 24th and 25th.

Five teams competed locally to determine the Vale Manitoba reps for that competition.

Mike McDonald, Advisor of Fire & Rescue for Vale Manitoba, tells us who is on the winning team.

“The team is made up of Captain Mark Scaddan, co-captain Joe Catarino, Justin Lefebvre is number two man, Kurtis Arnold is number three man and Tom Flett is number four man.”

McDonald shares what challenges the team will face at the provincial competition.

“There’s the fire-fighting competition using 20-pound fire extinguishers. There’s a bunch of different fires they have to put out.

There’s also a first-aid portion where they have usually one or two victims that they’ve got to package up and get ready to transport to the hospital. Usually they wind up carrying them out of the mine.

And the third one, they usually have an underground mine problem. That could be anywhere from a mine fire, trapped people, clearing gas, it could be just about anything.”

They’ll be up against teams from Hudbay in Flin Flon and Snow Lake and Tanco from Lac du Bonnet.

Winner of this competition will go to Fernie, B.C. in September for the National event.

A number of Manitobans have been recognized by the Lifesaving Society of Manitoba for coming to the aid of people, many of whom they didn’t even know.

The awards were presented Tuesday at the Annual Rescue and Honour Awards service at Government House.

Among those honoured with the Rescue Commendation Award were 3 young girls from Grand Rapids.

Jaylynn Chartier, Phoenix Chartier and Eden Rose Walker were playing near the Saskatchewan River last July 9th when they saw a 5-year-old girl floating face down in the water.

They managed to get her out of the water and while one girl went for help, the other two performed CPR, having learned it from watching a movie.

The girl survived and made a full recovery.