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.
In Japan, 2004 has been proclaimed the year of the monkey. In Northern Manitoba, it might well be the year of the bingo dabber. Heather Shabaga of Cranberry Portage and Freda Hiebert of Snow Lake have each won $15,000 courtesy of the Rotary Radio Bingo super jackpot, the third time this year the bingo has awarded a major prize. Shabaga drove to Flin Flon on Friday to pick up her plump cheque, which will be shared with her bingo buddies Graca Balcaen and Tiffany Anderson, both fellow Cranberry Portage residents. Asked about the group's response to the prize, Shabaga laughed, "We were excited when we won a case of Pepsi." Shabaga and her group of up to seven friends have been faithfully playing Rotary Radio Bingo on Saturday mornings for nearly two years. The bingo jackpot now drops down to $5,000, but will increase by $1,000 each week it is not awarded. This was the third time this year the bingo has awarded a major prize. In January, Elaine Clemons of Thompson took home the largest prize in the history of the program, $94,000. Then in July, Flin Flon's Mona Keyes dabbed her way to the mini-jackpot of $7,750. All in all, 2004 has been a great way for players to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Rotary Radio Bingo, heard Saturday mornings in Flin Flon, The Pas, Thompson and the surrounding areas.
