Tomorrow you can help The Opaskwayak Health Authority determine the health levels of the community, and determine health care needs and improvements. OHA is holding a 3 day community Health Assessment from tomorrow until Friday. They’re looking for community members who use homecare, are clients of our health centre, have a chronic disease, who look after someone with health care needs, or are parents of a young child. You can contact the Beatrice Wilson Health Centre at 304-627-7410 for a time and location. There will be snacks and refreshments as well as prizes for those who participate.

It’s the second day today of a youth conference between OCN elders and high school students. William Lathlin Chief Deputy Chief of OCN has more on why the conference is being held;

"The youth will be broken up into 8 different groups and will rotate between the stations talking to different elders about different topics. At the end of the conference there will be a recap, evaluation survey and summary with the youth."

Your Kids Can Attend a Fun Retreat this Weekend. Simon House Bible Camp is holding a spring retreat from Friday to Sunday.  Executive Director Darrell Janzen says it will be a fun weekend for ages 11 to 17. He says they have a great weekend where kids and youth can come and just get away for a while, meet friends from other communities, then do some fun games and activities and just have a great time away for a while.

You can register or find more information by calling 204-687-3340 or visit their website at www.simonhouse.ca. The cost is 80 dollars.

For those people looking at getting a drivers license The Pas Friendship Centre is hosting training this week. The friendship center along with MPI and Industry Training and Employment Services are hosting the driver’s education training for adults. There is space for 10 people and classes begin on Friday. It begins with 16 hours of in class instruction, 4 hours in car obstruction and 4 hours of driving with a certified driving instructor. For more information or to register you can contact The Pas Friendship Centre at 204-627-7500.

Next week the Province of Manitoba is hosting a business planning workshop. The 3 day workshop in The Pas will give participants the tools needed to prepare a business plan, and offers information to help start and grow a business. You will learn how to start and operate a small business in Manitoba including identifying the legal requirements of a small business license, permits and other regulations and much more. . It will be held from June 1^st to the 3^rd at UCN in room 132 in the boardroom. You can register at www.entrepreneurship.mb.ca.

A busy month of May in The Pas will wrap up with the MS Walk on Sunday. Lorna Lee Breemersch the Coordinator of The Pas MS Walk has more.

Breemersch says anyone can be affected by Multiple Sclerosis as theirs no age factor and it can effect teens as young as 14 and 15. The Town of The Pas has also proclaimed May as MS awareness month in The Pas.

Kids 8 years and older can take their chance at a triathlon next week. The Kids of Steel triathlon is June 4th in The Pas. It’s a chance for everyone to Swim, Bike and Run your way to success. It’s open to all kids and you can register as a team or individual. Registration deadline is May 31^st. You can register at the The Pas Rec and Wellness Centre, or you can receive more information by calling them at 204-627-1134.

Tomorrow is Tickled Pink Day in The Pas. The annual day is used to prevent bullying and bring awareness to the issue. Schools from our community will set out in the afternoon in pink clothing with the RCMP for an awareness walk. The TPCRC sponsors the event every year and challenges the business community as well. You can register your business and encourage employees to wear pink. To register your business you can receive a form at the TPCRC office or call them at 204-623-4269. The town of The Pas is also recognizing the day, proclaiming May 26^th 2016 as Tickled Pink Day in The Pas, whereas it’s a celebration in honour of ending bullying and recognizing diversity in today’s youth.

Our Northern Wilderness needs to be protected. The Wilderness Committee has released a report titled Keep It Wild-A Conservation Vision for Manitoba.  Their Campaign Director Eric Reder says it is a path forward to preserve the province’s wilderness and surpass the global goal of protecting 17 percent of Manitoba lands and waters by 2020 including the northern boreal forest.  He says there’s mining interests and logging interests but we also have the fact that the boreal forest has very little protection in the northern region and we have woodland caribou herds that don’t have protection required for them to survive in, so we need to look and ensure we are protecting great portions of that northern forest with areas that are set aside from development, so they will maintain caribou and maintain all of the other services that we get from the boreal forest.

Reder says the report is available at their website www.wildernesscommittee.org/manitoba with the goal getting a conversation started and hopefully leading to the government starting public consultations on the issue.

The Annual General Meeting of The Pas Friendship Centre will be held next month. The AGM is set for June 15^th at the Friendship Centre. It’s a chance for anyone to become a member of the Friendship Centre. Applications are due by June 1st. Anyone interested in attending the AGM is also welcome to do so. Dinner and refreshments will be provided.

A webinar will be held tomorrow in The Pas to assist families with information and resources about brain injuries. The Alberta Brain Injury Institute is hosting the webinar with two guest speakers. Mike Ryan the External Relations and Special Projects Lead as well as Tracy Atkins the Acquired Brain Injury Program Manager will lead the webinar. The Stigma of Brain Injury and Rehabilitation into the Community Webinar, will be held at the Beatrice Wilson health Centre from 3pm to 4:30pm.

The Opaskwayak Education Authority, Employment and Training, are taking applications for Vocational Sponsorships. Applications must include a copy of latest transcripts, treaty card, social insurance number and acceptance letter for vocational institution. Applications can be picked up at the Employment and Training office upstairs of the UCN Youth Centre. For more information you can contact Annie Wilson at 204-627-7181.

Spring Clean up is into its second week in The Town of The Pas. Last week Garbage was picked up from houses on the West side of the train tracks, this week they’re doing the East. Residents are asked to complete their spring cleaning and place the garbage in disposable containers or bags and leave them at the edge of the boulevard. The Pas staff will be collecting until Thursday. They ask regular household garbage to be not be included in the spring clean up and put in garbage stands for regular garbage days. If you have any derelict vehicles they can be removed from your property by calling 204-627-1125 for pickup arrangements.

The Pas and District Chamber of Commerce annual trade show continues today. The trade show kicked off last night with exhibits showcasing things from cotton candy to household items to power equipment. The trade show at the Roy H Johnston arena is open from noon to 9pm tonight and tomorrow from 10am to 4pm.

The Ecole Opasquia School is putting on a play next week. Their production of Annie is happening on Wednesday and students from the school have more.

It’s open to all parents, caregivers and the public at the Ecole Opasquia School. There will be a silver collection at the door.

A busy month of May in The Pas will wrap up with the MS Walk on May 29^th. Lorna Lee Breemersch the Coordinator of The Pas MS Walk has more.

Breemersch says anyone can be affected by Multiple Sclerosis as theirs no age factor and it can effect teens as young as 14 and 15. The Town of The Pas has also proclaimed May as MS awareness month in The Pas.

A book signing will be held today for an accomplished Author. The Pas resident Murray Harvey’s new novel “From This Valley” has received great reviews locally. Here he talks about the writing process.

Harvey said it took 7 years to write and complete the novel. You can purchase a copy of the novel and have it signed at the Oscar Lathlin Library on the UCN Campus from 1 to 4pm.

Next week those living with Diabetes or who are at risk can take a class hosted by the Northern health Region. The classes will connect individuals, groups and organizations that understand what it's like to live with type diabetes, and factors that help prevent it. The beginner resistance band, 5 week classes begins on Monday. They will be held on Monday’s and Thursdays from 10:30am to noon at the Wellness Centre Multipurpose room. For more information you can contact Primary Health Care at 204-623-9650.

Anne of Green Gables is another musical being put on by Theatre 53 this week. The theatre group’s newest musical opens tomorrownight. Andrew Legany a board member of Theatre 53 and a music director of the musical has more.

Show times are tomorrow, Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm, with a matinee showing at 1:30pm on Sunday.  It takes place in the MBCI gym.

Thursday night the annual The Pas and District Chamber of Commerce Trade Show kicks off. Shirley Barbeau with the chamber of commerce has more on the dates and times.

There are some new, and lots of return booths to this year’s trade show. Also the ladies hospital auxiliary will be manning the door will entry fees going to their group. It takes place at the Roy H Johnston arena all weekend.

Today is the final day to fill out the 2016 Stats Canada Census. The Town of The Pas receives benefits from the census and Randi Salamanowicz, the Chief Administrative Officer would like everyone to fill one out.

If you did not get a census form you can contact your local census person or fill it out online at census.gc.ca.  The census helps The Pas receive money from the federal government for things like schooling, to planning seniors housing, to police and fire services.

A local teenager will be running for a prestigious provincial title this week. Becky Myers a grade 8 student from Cormorant will be representing The Pas and area in the Miss Teenage Manitoba Pageant this weekend. It’s held on Saturday and Sunday in Winnipeg and the winner of Miss Teenage Manitoba gets to represent the province at Miss Teenage Canada in Toronto. Last year The Pas’ Gabby Umperville was crowned Miss Teenage Manitoba and enjoyed her time running for Miss teenage Canada. Myers will be competing against other teenagers from across the province this weekend.

An annual walk held between The Pas and Flin Flon is happening this weekend. On Sunday the Annual Junior Diabetes Research Foundation walk will be held. Shawn Kirkness says the walk has been held for the last 6 years.

The goal of the walk is to connect with individuals, groups and organizations that understand what it's like to live with type 1 diabetes. They also raise money to support leading research focused on curing, better treatment and preventing type 1 diabetes. The walk alternates between Flin Flon and The Pas each year. You can call Kirkness for more information at 978-1888 or visit the website atjdrf.ca.

The annual Spring Cleanup campaign begins on Monday. Town of The Pas employees will be driving from house to house collecting refuse left at the edge of your boulevard and sidewalks. They ask all citizens take part. The area on the west side of the tracks will be cleaned first from May 9^th to 12^th, while the East side will be done from May 16^th to the 19^th. Refuse must be placed in disposable containers if possible, no bag tags are required. Also it must be protected from wind and animals. If you would like to have derelict vehicles removed from your property you can call 627-1125 for arrangements.

As the massive forest fire continues to burn in Fort MacMurray communities across the country are reaching out to help. In The Pas a new group was formed over the past few days by Mark Andrews and Darcie Thompson. They’re in the planning stages but Thompson says some donations can be accepted already. Thomspon says they’re taking donations of blankets and pillows at Funky Threadz and the Wescana Inn. Andrews says donations of other items will be accepted over the coming weeks. Another way to help is to individually make donations to the Red Cross in support of Fort MacMurray.

The War Amps have been sending out their annual key tags to Manitoba residents this week. James Jordan the War Amps Safety Events Coordinator says it’s been a benefit to a lot of people over the last 70 years, as over 1,500,000 sets of keys have been returned to Canadians. If you find a lost set of keys they ask you return them to the post office or call the number on the back. The service was put into action by the War Amps following the Second World War.

A tragic turn of events has left thousands of residents from Fort MacMurray scurrying to try and find a safe place to sleep. A former Arctic Radio Employee with 102.9 CJAR and 102.9 CHTM Bradley Karp, now working in Fort Mac tried to put it into words. "Fort MacMurray is similiar to The Pas as it's an isolated community. Fort MacMurray is about 45 minutes away from the nearest gas station, and there's a two hour wait to fuel up." The Forest Fire started threatening Fort Mac on Sunday and by Tuesday evening the entire city was under an evacuation order. Majority of the city has been burned. Hot, humid conditions, are making things worse.

(Photo: Bradley Karp)

May is now known as Multiple Sclerosis Month in The Town of The Pas. Mayor Jim Scott and the Town of the Pas officially proclaimed the month MS Awareness Month. MS affects approximately 3,500 Manitobans and there is no known cause of, or cure for MS. The MS Society of Canada has provided more than 80 million dollars for MS research during the past 50 years as well as programs, services and social action for people living with MS. The MS walk in The Pas will be May 29^th.