The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor Flin Flon officials were on hand over the long weekend as our neighbours in The Pas marked a momentous milestone. 'The Gateway of the North' celebrated its 100th anniversary with events that included a parade complete with a City of Flin Flon float. 'We had people on the streets saying, 'Thank you, Flin Flon, for showing up and taking part in our birthday,'' Mayor George Fontaine said at Tuesday's council meeting. Mayor Fontaine and MLA Clarence Pettersen, as well as Flinty himself (a costumed Mark Kolt, municipal administrator), joined other Flin Flon dignitaries on the float. Mayor Fontaine also delivered a speech to a gathering. At Tuesday's meeting, he said Flin Flon and The Pas have a 'friendly competition' for government services. 'But we also have a cooperative attitude to try and work on things that are in favour of both of us,' he said. Situated 141 km southeast of Flin Flon, the Town of The Pas was incorporated in 1912. The community was originally known as W'passkwayaw, then Opasquia, before assuming its current moniker. Initially inhabited by the Cree, the area became home to a French trading post in the 1700s. Today The Pas has a population of 5,513 with a strong economy based on forestry, government services, tourism and farming. See 'Rodd...' on pg. 11 Continued from pg. 9 Famous former residents include wrestler 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper, CTV Winnipeg news anchor Gord Leclerc and former federal Liberal leadership contender Gerard Kennedy. The Pas is also, tragically, known as the site of the infamous 1971 murder of Helen Betty Osbourne, a young aboriginal woman who was attending high school in the community. It took 16 years for a conviction in the killing, and all four men implicated were Caucasian. The murder was the subject of a book and CBC movie, both of which shared the name Conspiracy of Silence. On a happier note, The Pas has won great acclaim for its annual Trappers Festival. Over the last eight years, guests at the festival have included then-prime minister Paul Martin and CBC funnyman Rick Mercer.
