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 As life marches on, it is easy to forget what it was like to be young. That is now less of a problem for Flin Flon City Council, which last month welcomed new youth representative Kayla Lau. 'I've always had a passion for the community and I've always wanted to be part of something bigger,' says Lau, a Grade 12 student at Hapnot Collegiate. Though she lacks voting power, Lau, 17, will attend meetings with council until June, offering her input on a broad spectrum of municipal matters. 'Some people don't see how the youth are thinking and they have a picture set in mind of how we are,' she says, adding that the picture is not always accurate. As a part-time lifeguard at the city-owned Aqua Centre, Lau says she already sees little pieces of how the municipality operates. But Lau says her new role on council will allow her to learn more about what goes on behind the scenes. The daughter of Gord Lau and Kim Proctor, she hopes to attend the University of Winnipeg next fall to study education and become a high school history or English teacher. The teen's long-term goal? To return to Hapnot as a member of the faculty. The youth representative position is coordinated through Hapnot Student Council, which since 2001 has sent an interested student to council meetings. Earlier this year, city council for the first time developed criteria around who can serve as the youth rep. Council's policy requires the youth rep be a full-time Grade 12 student from either Hapnot or Many Faces Education Centre. The rep must also be under the age of 22, a resident of Flin Flon and deliver a report at least once a month on school-related activities. And if the rep fails to attend at least half of council's regular meetings, held twice a month, he or she will not receive the $500 bursary the city normally awards to the student.
