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.
Local basketball fans will get their fill of the fast-paced sport this March when Hapnot Collegiate hosts the Provincial AAA Basketball Championship. And Hapnot principal John Clark sees another positive spin-off to the tournament coming to town Ñ more business flow uptown. At yesterday's Chamber of Commerce meeting at the Friendship Centre, Clark said organizers will ensure the athletes Ñ in the neighbourhood of 170 of them Ñ will be in the uptown area at some point during their time in town. "As much as possible, what we're looking at doing is trying to make sure that when the athletes come to Flin Flon, we're creating win-win situations with businesses uptown, Hapnot Collegiate and the athletes themselves," he told the 14 people on hand. See 'Special' P.# Con't from P.# Clark commented that the athletes and their families will be dining out and may be interested in picking up some souvenirs from their trip. The basketball tournament, slated for March 18, 19 and 20, will involve 16 basketball teams from across the province, an even split between boys' and girls' teams. The games will take place at both McIsaac School Ecole McIsaac and Hapnot Collegiate. Organizers have sent letters to businesses requesting support for the tournament. They must raise between $8,000 and $9,000. The major cost of the tournament will be a banquet at Hapnot. Flin Flon last hosted the provincial basketball tournament more than two decades ago in the 1982-83 school year. "This is going to be a great provincial basketball championship," commented Clark. In another matter at the meeting, President Doug O'Brien spoke of a special committee that has been formed involving representation from the Chamber and the City of Flin Flon. "It's basically to try to formulate some plans as to where the City may be going and where we as a chamber can help," he said. "I know there's been some comments about, 'Well, what the heck is the Chamber doing with the City?' There are some plans in place and it's a case of us all working together to see how we can deal with the business problems, if we do have problems, if that's how we want to term them, or how we can just be positive and try to accomplish something." This committee has met once previously and is scheduled to meet again next week. Representing Flin Flon City Council on the committee are councillors Nazir Ahmad and Tom Therien. Here is a recap of other matters from the Chamber meeting: Member Gordon Mitchell put out a request for resolutions to be presented to the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce for their upcoming annual general meeting. Anyone with ideas may contact the Chamber office at 687-4518. It was noted that Kelvin Shepherd, vice-president of Network Services for MTS, will speak to the Chamber at an evening session on Tuesday, March 2. The time and location have yet to be determined. All Chamber members will be welcome to attend. A letter from the Northern Village of Denare Beach informed the Chamber that Councillor Wayne Elliott has been appointed the village's Chamber representative. The newest figures show the Chamber now has about 100 members Ñ not nearly enough in the view of President Doug O'Brien. "It's a far cry from where we should be but that's where we are," he said. O'Brien identified volunteers to operate a pancake breakfast for the upcoming Bust the Winter Blues Festival. A Chamber member drew plenty of compliments when she unveiled a framed cross-stitch depicting loons. The cross-stitch will be raffled off as a Chamber fundraiser. It will be displayed for public viewing at the Flin Flon-Creighton Public Library.
