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 the year draws to a close, The Reminder is counting down the top 20 stories of 2012, beginning today. 11. Changing Of The Guard Hudbay may be headquartered in Toronto, but its foundation remains in northern Manitoba. Ensuring prosperity in this mineral-rich region is, naturally, a top priority for the company. Which is where Brad Lantz comes in. Following June's retirement of Tom Goodman, chief operating officer and senior vice-president, Lantz became the highest-ranking Hudbay official based in Flin Flon. It's a large burden to shoulder, but one that Lantz, vice-president of the company's Manitoba business unit, relishes. 'It's really a responsibility for the business today and the business for the future,' he said in describing his job. Lantz is upbeat about Hudbay's Manitoba prospects, with the Lalor and Reed properties near Snow Lake being readied for production. 'Within Flin Flon and Snow Lake, exploration success has been the core of really the lifeblood of the company here, and I see that continuing,' he said. 'So the challenge for us is to maintain sustainable mining in this area for many years to come.' Lantz's ascension to Hudbay's man in Flin Flon follows years of steady progression up the corporate ladder. 12. Good Plan While It Lasted In February, the NDP government denied a funding application that could have brought Flin Flon two more seniors housing complexes and a new high-end neighbourhood. Bridge Road Developments, a Manitoba-based construction company, applied for a provincial grant to help build a 36-unit complex for seniors on fixed incomes. See 'Lodge...' on pg. 6 Con't from pg. 1 Approval of that project would have bolstered the feasibility of a separate 24-unit complex, open to wealthier seniors, that Bridge Road might have built on its own without government assistance. The buildings would have gone up on the tract of vacant land between Roche Boulevard and Wallace Avenue, overlooking Manitoba Avenue. With the City of Flin Flon having tentatively allocated $400,000 to service the property, council had plans to open a deluxe new subdivision on the same property. But as Mayor George Fontaine announced early in the year, none of it is in the cards now. 'The government has made their decisions. We are not one of the lucky recipients of the grants that are coming for affordable housing, so we will not be getting the subdivision at this point,' he said. 13. Up In Smoke A devastating blaze destroyed the anchor building at one of northern Manitoba's most popular lodges. Firefighters were dispatched to Bakers Narrows Lodge at 6:22 a.m. on Feb. 4, by which time the building was already completely engulfed. 'It was burning through the floor when firefighters entered, so they were pulled out as soon as it was determined the building was totally involved,' said Flin Flon Fire Chief Jim tPetrie. 'Just about every opening, all the doors and windows, were totally blackened by smoke and fire.' No one was injured, as the building was closed for the winter. Petrie estimated total damages at close to $1 million, making the blaze one of costliest, if not the costliest, in the history of the Flin Flon area. An investigation found the cause to be undetermined, but not suspicious. It is believed the fire started in the upper part of the building. The owners of Bakers Narrows Lodge said it would have to make financial sense for them to consider rebuilding the facility. With the year coming to a close, the lot where the building sat remains empty. 14. Animal House Over the past decade, the Flin Flon, Creighton and Area SPCA has taken in some very sickly animals. But no matter how weak and malnourished these cats and dogs were, volunteers never gave up in trying to nurse them back to health. In the fall, through that same compassionate determination, the not-for-profit organization has given homeless animals and those who care for them a place to call their own. About 80 people gathered under the shade of a marquee tent on Sept. 29, to officially open the SPCA's new animal shelter and headquarters off the Cliff Lake Road. 'This beautiful facility is representative of volunteerism and passion for a cause,' former SPCA volunteer Andrea Paul told the assembled guests. 'The support of the citizens and businesses of Flin Flon, Creighton, Denare Beach, Cranberry Portage and all the surrounding areas has made this dream a reality.' Standing in front of the red-cladded, one-storey building, SPCA vice-president Debbie Hiebert was full of praise. 'I love it here, I love the building and thank you to all volunteers, everybody, for all the hard work over the years,' she said. 15. Million-Dollar Smiles October 27 began like any other autumn Saturday for Shayne Brown. Brown, a proud Flin Flonner and pipefitter at Hudbay, had no idea that his life was in for a serious shakeup. He grabbed the ticket, a Lotto Max, and sat down at his computer to check the numbers online. Working his way through the list of numbers drawn the previous night, suddenly one set started to match up: 11, 13, 16, 17, 18, 23 and 45. Unless his eyes were playing tricks on him, the piece of paper in his hands was worth a cool $1 million. For several years, whenever the jackpots got particularly high, Brown and his best friend, fellow Flin Flonner Travis Rideout, had gone halfers on lotto tickets. Brown had purchased this week's ticket from Lloydy's Corner Store, plunking down $20 the previous afternoon. He let the Quick Pick program automatically choose the numbers. Now he was in disbelief. When Brown told Rideout what had happened, the men walked to a convenience store to verify the ticket on the self-checker. 'When it said 'appears to be a $1 million winner,' all I saw was a one with a bunch of zeroes,' Rideout said. 'It was surreal.' Both Brown and Rideout plan to pay off debt and put some money away for their children's education. 16. Game Over In a plain, somewhat cramped room inside CFAR's Green Street studio, Wayne Fraser flips a switch. The hollow, colourful bingo balls are stirred into action inside their glass box encasing. One last time, the ensuing rumble goes out across airwaves throughout northern Manitoba. Rotary Radio Bingo broadcast its final game on Saturday morning, March 31, marking the end of a northern ritual. 'People that I don't even know have stopped me on the street and said, 'That's too bad, I've got nothing to do on a Saturday morning now,'' said Fraser, the long-time chairperson of the bingo. After nearly four decades and almost 2,000 broadcasts, Rotary Radio Bingo fell victim to increased competition and plummeting ticket sales. Fraser said the bingo _ a fundraiser for the Rotary Club of Flin Flon _ had been at best breaking even over the last five or six years. 'We kept changing the prize structure, things of that order, hoping something would happen that would allow us to continue to run it,' he said. 'But unfortunately the number of players just kept getting smaller and smaller.' Since its launch 38 years ago, Fraser estimated the bingo has pumped nearly $1.5 million into community projects. Among them: Rotary Park, Camp Whitney and the Rotary Wheel. See 'Bus...' on pg.7 Con't from pg.6 17. Decision A Bus-t Northern transportation got a lot more challenging when bussing giant Greyhound eliminated its day runs between Flin Flon and Winnipeg and all passenger service between Flin Flon, Snow Lake and Thompson. The cuts took effect July 1 after the NDP government terminated a subsidy to Greyhound, hopeful that individual communities could launch transportation services of their own. Flin Flon Mayor George Fontaine said the question is whether the city wants to take on another service 'downloaded' onto municipalities by a provincial government with more financial wherewithal. 'We shouldn't have to do that, so it's certainly not going to be any kind of a first move,' he said. Coun. Skip Martin, meanwhile, asked residents to sign an open letter he planned to send to Transportation Minister Steve Ashton. The reduced bussing had the Northern Health Region bracing for higher transportation costs as it called on the province to deliver a long-term solution. 'We are working with making our concerns known to government, so hopefully that will get sorted out,' said CEO Helga Bryant CEO. Until Greyhound reduced its runs, the RHA had regularly utilized Greyhound buses to move patients from the region to specialist appointments in Winnipeg. 18. Co$t Of Living Flin Flonners faced a new municipal fee and the prospect of at least two more as city council struggled with rising costs. In July, council imposed drop-off fees at the Flin Flon landfill with residents paying between $10 and $75, or more, when taking their own garbage to the dump. In September, council hosted a public forum to discuss ways of bridging the gap between revenue from Channing and Wally Heights and the cost of their sewer and water services. Since the two subdivisions are not connected to the city's water grid, the municipality, as a matter of fairness, pays for those residents' water tank deliveries and sewage tank pumpouts. The problem, as council sees it, is that the utility bills paid by the subdivision amount to far less than the actual cost of the service. In 2011, the gap was $110,913. Council's solution remains to be seen, but it's clear higher fees for Channing and Wally Heights residents are one possibility. In October, council hosted another forum to discuss a proposed police and firefighting fee for all homes. Mayor Fontaine said the intent is to raise what owners of low-end homes are charged while keeping everyone else at about the same level they're at now. But that does not mean low-end properties _ and potentially by extension low-income homeowners and renters _ will face steep hikes. 19. A Place To Call Their Own Area teens and adolescents lost a place to call their own when the Community Youth Resource Centre closed its doors over the summer. Officials said ongoing federal funding to operate the centre, based in the lower level of the Lutheran Church, was cut off. 'At this point in time it has to close. We just don't have the resources to keep it going,' said Shelly Craig, executive director of the Flin Flon Aboriginal Friendship Centre, which operates the Youth Centre. Craig had sought $156,000 for the year from Ottawa's Cultural Connections for Aboriginal Youth (CCAY) program. The Youth Centre had been recommended for an increase over the $104,000 received last year, which accounted for about 75 per cent of its total budget. Not only did the $52,000 increase not materialize, no funding whatsoever came through, at least initially. As a result, the Youth Centre shut down on June 30 after a dozen years in operation. Craig said 421 youth accessed the centre nearly 9,000 times in the latest fiscal year. It serves those between the ages of 10 and 20, three-quarters of whom are of aboriginal descent. She praised the centre as 'youth-driven,' with the young people themselves shaping the programming. Fortunately, the Youth Centre was subsequently reborn at the Friendship Centre. 20. It's Our History The recorded history of Flin Flon is scattered across a medley of sources. There are the yellowed newspaper clippings in the basement of the library and the black and white photos tucked inside family albums throughout the community. There are the dog-eared high school yearbooks in your father's closet and the fast-fading memories that exist only in the minds of community pioneers. Shepherding all of this history, and more, into a central location is the aim of the Flin Flon Heritage Project, a website as practical as it is ambitious. 'We're just capturing whatever information we can get,' said Richard Lyons, who this year began spearheading the site along with friend Doug Evans and a team of hearty volunteers. Though Lyons and Evans now live in Winnipeg, they have not forgotten their Flin Flon routes. So when Evans approached Lyons with the concept of the site last spring, there was no hesitation about moving forward. Within a few weeks work was underway on the website. The first draft is now online with dozens of photos, Reminder articles and even videos of events like the demolition of the South Main head frame. With over 40 menu destinations, it's an addictive place for anyone with an interest in the far-reaching annals of Flin Flon and area. (See Monday's Reminder for our choices for the top 10 stories).
