The Pas Community Renewal Corporation is accepting applications for their small grant fund.

Holly Lajambe Shares details about the program:

"The Pas Community Renewal Corporation runs a small grants program, so we provide community grants up to $5000.

They have to occur locally and they have to be barrier-free.  So that means you can't charge anything.  Everyone is welcome and somewhere accessible for those with disabilities, et cetera."

For those who may not know how to write a Grant application, the TPCRC will be hosting an event on the 26^th online at 1 pm.

If your organization supports capacity building, stability, well-being, or economic development you may qualify for funding.

Any questions in regards to funding and the application process can be directed to TPCRC’s community engagement coordinator Holly LaJambe at 204 623 4269.

Fire Prevention Week is coming up in October from the 8^th to the 14^th.

A large percentage of fires at home occur due to cooking mishaps.

Having a plan ready in case of an emergency can be helpful in preventing injury.

Making sure you have working smoke detectors is a must, checking charging cords for frayed wires, and using proper cookware when in the kitchen and help prevent a fire.

The Pas Fire Department is currently in need of paid on-call and volunteer firefighters.  Anyone interested in joining is asked to call 431-355-1516.

As part of the town's Fall Clean-Up campaign, yard waste will be picked up from residential areas during October 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th.

You’re asked to leave yard waste next to pick-up sites where regular waste removal happens.

This includes yard waste that has been placed in disposable containers, and twigs and branches that have been bound and weigh no more than 25 pounds and measure 4 feet.

Anything larger than this can be removed by contacting the town offices at the cost of the homeowner.

It’s noted that ashes, sod, dog waste, and material from dismantled structures will not be picked up.

The town also offers bulky item removal and can help deal with derelict vehicles by calling 627-1125.

PC Manitoba Candidate Al McLauchlan announced yesterday a re-elected PC government in Manitoba would invest $40 million dollars into a permanent recruitment fund to expand the rural healthcare workforce.

McLauchlan said this new fund for rural communities would build upon the success of recruitment and retention efforts being done by the PC Government.

The recruitment funding will help with staffing issues at the St. Anthony General Hospital, and with this new fund have a plan to add staffing capacity to the healthcare system.

Culture Days is kicking off on Friday with a free concert, coffee house, and interviews with the Voices of the North podcast happening Friday the 22nd at the Wescana.

During the week from the 22nd to October 2nd, the community will host cultural activities and events.

A world food tasting event, games nights, family fun days, paint nights and more will be taking place.

on Saturday the 23rd  a walking poker derby will happen with a chance to win turkeys, the food tasting will be at the Norelite hall from 1 to 4 pm, and a movie night will be happening at The Pas Regional Library.

On Sunday, there will be a farmers market and beaver tail sale at the Golden Agers, a Drag Show Brunch, a display at the Tribe cable park, and the touch-a-truck.

Plenty of other events will take place during the 2 weeklong festival, find all the details on the 2023 Culture Days Facebook page.

Arctic Radio sat down with Town of The Pas Mayor Andre Murphy following this week's town council meeting.

Updates were provided for training being done with the fire department, a new computer server the town is in need of, a resolution required in support of the housing accelerator fund, and more.

Mayor Murphy talks about paving that's being done around town:

"Paving is going on around town.  Thanks to our municipal superintendent, Sam and the rest of the crew there.  It's about $750,000 worth of paving that we're doing this year.

So, again, assets that we've got to continue maintaining, it takes us a lot of time and it takes a lot of money to kind of keep that, but we've got to catch up and keep doing it."

Murphy gave accolades to The Pas Family Resource Center for 1.4 million dollars worth of services that don't impact the ratepayer.

Spoke about the Chief and Candidates forum and the work being done between The Pas and Opaskwayak Cree Nation.

Budgeting for various holidays was also mentioned.

Listen to the full interview with Mayor Murphy at The Pas Today at thepasonline.com.

As temperatures start to get colder thoughts of The Northern Manitoba Trappers Festival start to linger.

There is now a call out for young ladies in the community who want to throw their hat into the running for Fur Queen.

The Annual event takes place during the Trappers' festival but preparations have to be done well in advance.

Here Krista Tooley, Fur Queen director has words for those who might want to run.

"If you're in the age range, which is 18 to 24 and have ever thought about running for Fur Queen, please reach out if you have questions.  

You can definitely call me or text me and we can have a bit of a chat if you're pretty sure you want to run and you just want to see what the application looks like, or I can also send out a list of dates that you're required to come so that you can kind of like see a little bit about what the commitment looks like."

The deadline to enter is September 30th you can call Tooley at 204-623-2373 for event details.

Recent childcare announcements mean the UCN’s Early Childhood Education program received 5.5 million dollars to expand the program as the province looks for 3000 New ECEs.

This money will help fund programs in The Pas and Thompson.

The program has been expanded and the fall session will be starting next week with registration until September 25^th.

Laura Ayres early childhood education coordinator tells us what ECEs are:

"Early Childhood Education - or ECE for short- is the professional designation for individuals who care and educate children from 12 weeks to 12 years old in childcare facilities and in designated childcare family centers."

The Manitoba government does offer tuition support that will reimburse you to attend programs.

To learn all about ECE programs running locally listen to the full interview with Ayres at The Pas Today at thepasonline.com.

Tonight the Air Cadets will be looking for members.

It will be their first parade night and they are reminding all past, present, and new members to attend.

Here Angie Nikolychuck talks about some of the things cadets will learn:

"We are Air Cadets.  Our training is a lot on air survival aircrafts.

The clouds in the sky and stuff like that. 

But we also do a lot of community work as well and we work with the legion closely and we're actually helping out the Rotary Club next month.  So we're trying to get back out there."

There is a focus on building life skills, social skills, and leadership skills throughout the program.

Nikolychuck mentioned that recruitment happens year-round and any youth interested in the program can join in every Tuesday night at the Legion.

Tonight’s session will run from 6:30 to 9 pm.

The Pas Immigrant Services are hosting a welcoming week.

Darshita Barekx with The Pas Immigrant Services tells us what welcoming week is:

"The Welcoming Week is an annual opportunity to recognize and celebrate the people, place and values that help everyone feel welcome and give them a sense of belonging in their local community no matter where they come from."

Welcoming Week started on Friday and will continue over the week with programs running to encourage newcomers to the community to get involved.

This evening a newcomers welcoming event will be happening at The Pas Immigrant Services building on Fischer Avenue.  A family games night will be running on Wednesday night.

On Thursday, an outdoor Zoomba event will be happening outside of the Wellness Center.

Friday will see a children’s talent show at The Pas Regional Library.

And on Saturday the event will wrap up with a nature walk on the Rosy Mayne Trail.

There will also be a chance to win prizes on their Facebook page, so follow The Pas Immigrant Service online.

The Town of The Pas has been seeing road work this week creating issues for motorists, and school opening means children will be out in abundance.

Mayor Andre Murphy stopped by the CJAR offices ahead of the council returning to a two-month schedule starting next week.

During the summer there were some major changes to town employees with Bola Adedoyin taking over as CAO, and Jonathan Lalonde taking over as EDO.

Murphy talks about Lalonde and economic development.

"One of the exciting things we also have happening is we have a new starting economic development officer starting on Monday.  Jonathan Lalande, who's come out of Sault Ste. Marie. 

One of the big focus for him will be to continue to push that, but really to put together a package to sell our community and our area as a prime gateway to partnering with Arctic Gateway Group and getting that shipping port to the north moving.

We've got there's a lot of like I said, there's a lot of opportunities with what's happening in the world today.  We need to make sure that we're positioned properly to be able to capture those."

Find minutes for monthly council meetings at townofthepas.ca.

The Pas Community Choir will be kicking off a brand new session starting today.

For anyone wanting to get involved, there will be an open house happening at the Westminster United Church this evening.

Andrew Legany, Choir director spoke about the event:

"The community choir is going to start their rehearsals at seven o'clock PM in the C.E. Wing of Westminster United Church.  We practice every Thursday.  We're going to be preparing pieces for our Remembrance Day as well as our annual Christmas concert.

It's free to try.  We do have a $30 registration for those that are committed to the session.  Anybody can just come out and try it and see if it works for them."

The session starts tonight at 7pm and is open to everyone to come and try, the community choir will be gathering every Thursday night at the Westminster during the session.

The Kelsey Recreation and Wellness Center will be hosting the parade of programs next week.

The event will be open to the public on Wednesday, September 13^th, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm and will showcase a variety of different community groups, organizations, and activities taking place throughout the year.

It was noted that the event had to be pushed back from the originally scheduled date.

For kids and adults, there will be opportunities to get involved.

Around 20 organizations are currently registered for the event which is free to attend, to see what will be available you can contact the rec center at 627-1134.

Registration for groups is still being accepted.

A Community "Free Day" will be happening this coming Saturday.

The idea is to place unwanted items on the curb that might otherwise be destined for the dump.

Anyone is welcome to place items on their curb with the label “free” allowing for others to come and take away said items.

Items can include furniture, books, CDs, DVDs, electronics, sporting equipment, toys, children’s items, small appliances, kitchen items and anything else you think someone else may want.

The community free day will happen Saturday from 8 am to 8 pm, and you are reminded that all items that are not taken must be removed by the owner when the event ends.

The adult learning centre has been running for 27 years in the community, and registration for the fall semester is now underway.

There are daytime and evening classes available starting on September 11^th.

The Kelsey Learning Centre understands the challenges that many adult learners face including juggling work, families and education and provides options for everyone.

Heather Marlow with the Kelsey Learning Centre has words for those who might be considering returning to school.

"If you've been thinking about going back to school, you know, feeling that trepidation, not really sure, we can absolutely be there to help you.

If you're interested in coming back, we are located on the 2nd floor of UCN and we're there from 8 to 4, so if you wanna pop in and just ask about things, we can get you started."

The center offers a high school diploma program, academic upgrading to prep for high school programs, and post-secondary prep programs for college and university-level courses.

Tomorrow is a day to remember those who have succumbed to overdose and to learn how to prevent it in the future.

The Play it Safer Network will be hosting an awareness event outside of the CJAR building from Noon to 3 this afternoon.

There will be games, information sessions, refreshments, and Naloxone Training being offered by trained professionals.

For those looking for information, you can stop by and speak with Krista Tooley, event coordinator.

"International Overdose Awareness Day is the world's largest annual campaign to end overdose and remember those who have died *without* stigma and acknowledge the grief that many friends and family have left behind."

The pandemic has seen an increase in drug-related deaths across Canada which makes this event as important as ever.

The 4-H Helping Hands Club is hosting a care closet once again for individuals in need.

They are asking for donations for the upcoming event that is set for September 2^nd.

There is a need for personal hygiene items, feminine hygiene items, toiletries, clothing, school supplies and other essential items.

Here Cheryl Antonio gives details on how to donate.

"If you have some donations for me, get a hold of me on Facebook, or email me: antc@mymyts.net, and I will be posting updated information on The Pas Community - What's Happening in the Tri-Area page."

The care closet has a goal to help provide essential items to those who might not otherwise have access.

For more on the care closet and other community events listen to the full interview with Antonio on The Pas Today at thepasonline.com.

Tomorrow The Pas Friendship Center will be hosting a Community Clean Up at the Kelsey Estates Park.

Following last week’s harm reduction session happening at the Kelsey Estates, it was noted that the park needs cleaning.

Janet Lowther with the Center talks about the event:

"We're gonna have some hotdogs, and we got a couple of singers there, so they're gonna come and play some music.  And hopefully, get that park all cleaned up. 

The Town of The Pas is gonna be coming and cleaning up the garbage and removing it.  So we're looking for more volunteers to come and help us out, or if you have something to contribute, we're always looking for donations all the time."

The cleanup will start at 10am and run until 2pm and everyone is welcome to join in.

Culture Days are coming fast.

The annual program is hosted by The Pas Arts Council.

There are lots of events already registered for this year’s event, but there is still time to sponsor a workshop or event.

Cheryl Antonio Shares details on how to get involved:

"We are still accepting events if you want to jump aboard with us and host something.  Just give me a shout via Facebook or email: antc@mymts.net.

We have a Facebook page: 2023 Culture Days by The Pas Arts Council.  Follow that for the calenders and all of the updated information, or head over to The Pas Regional Library.  They are our hub once again this year.

They will be also hosting some events and you could pick up the hard copies of that stuff as well."

The events start on Friday, September 22^nd with the Young Voices of the North podcast.

Some of the programs already registered include paint nights, cultural food tastings, poker derbies, movie nights, the Touch a Truck, and much more.

To hear the full interview with Antonio and learn about all the events taking place during culture days go to The Pas Today at thepasonline.com.

For children heading into kindergarten programs, you should have received letters informing you of teachers, supplies, and day cycles for which days your children will be attending.

If you did not receive your letter, you can contact the École Opasquia, Kelsey Community, and Joe A. Ross for details in regards to this.

Programs running in the community include English, French, and Cree immersion programs.

Meet and greets with teachers are planned over the coming weeks.

Offices will be opening starting next week for parents in need of information for the upcoming school year.

Arctic Radio’s Annual 100 Grand in Your Hand event wrapped up last week, where local contestants took home over $13,000 in prizes.

On top of all the prizes Arctic Radio and CJAR were able to donate 12 hundred dollars to local seniors through recreational programs.

This was the 5^th year for the event and with the help of over 25 local sponsors and businesses, a donation was made to support elders and seniors.

Both St. Paul’s Personal Care Home and Rod McGillivary Care Home received a check for $600.

There was a goal to provide something fun and positive to the community while also giving back and that goal was once again met.

Arctic Radio looks forward to bringing back the event again next year.

The Beatrice Wilson Health Center’s Kindergarten Fair is coming up tomorrow and will be running at the facilities on the OCN from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm.

There will be drop-ins with information on immunization, nutrition, diabetes resources, Jordan’s Principal, the Maternal Child Health Program, healthy lunch ideas, CNTH dental care and more.

Nurses will be on-site to provide support and outreach.

Participants will get to take home a health snack package and will be entered for a chance to win draws.

With the fall school year looming children from the ages of 4- 6 may require immunization and support staff will be on hand to provide information.

Public health nurses can be reached by calling 204-627-7410.

Community Futures Cedar Lake Region will be bringing back their "Investing in our Future” grants program.

In 2022, this program awarded 33 projects in the region with funding of nearly $142,000 to promote growth in the community.

Here Sandra Shapiro with the Community Futures talks about organizations that are eligible for the funding:

"Any community organizations who are interested in applying for the grant: please do.

So, when I'm talking about community organizations, it's community councils, organizations, First Nations organizations, non-profit groups and schools.

And as long as they're located in the Cedar Lake Service Region: apply. 

For-profit, businesses and business organizations are not eligible."

The program opened last Wednesday and the deadline to apply is February 1^st, 2024 or as long as funds are available.

Grants are up to 2000 dollars which will be funded on a matching basis.

For information on how to apply go to https://cfmanitoba.ca/cedar-lake

This coming Wednesday Jordan’s Principle and the Beatrice Wilson Health Center are inviting families out for a Walking Derby.

The Derby will have lots of prizes for youth but there will also be something for the adults.

Her Ashley Cook with the Beatrice Wilson Health Center has more:

"So we're going from 0 to 17, but guardians and parents are encouraged to come as well, because they can also enter for a second door prize.  We got something special planned for them, too."

The derby will start on Wednesday Afternoon at 1pm with walkers leaving up until 2pm.

There will be games and prizes set up at booths along the route.

To learn more about the Walking Derby or other programs with Jordan’s Principle call 204-627-7410.

There’s a lot to take in this weekend at the Exhibition Grounds as the Opasquia Agricultural Society is hosting Chuck Wagon and Chariot races.

The event will start tomorrow with gates opening at 4pm and running all weekend long.

Races will happen at 8pm on Friday, 4pm on Saturday, and 1 on Sunday.

Darlene Dushanek with the Agricultural Society talks about Grocery races:

"And another really exciting event that is a crowd and family favourite is our Grocery Race that we put on.  That's on at intermission time.

So get out there and have a three-legged race on the track.  You get to carry home whatever groceries you can find!  

So you're basically gonna get your wrist bracelet back, and groceries, so get out there and get those zoodles!"

There will be performances happening on the stage in the beer gardens throughout the event with performances from the Metis Fiddlers, Cranberry Jam, and other local performers are encouraged to take the stage on Friday night at 5pm.

This year the Pull-a-Tow Truck event will happen, which will host local teams that will pull for a chance at a 500-dollar cash prize.

Weekend and day passes will be available at the gate, and for a full list of events and activities this weekend find the Opasqiua Agricultural Society on face book.