A milestone class reunion was held at the Swan Valley Regional Secondary School (SVRSS) the week of the Northwest Round-up Fair and Rodeo. The SVRSS Class of 1973 was the first class to graduate from the newly formed regional secondary school and celebrated their 50-year high school reunion.
“1973 was the first year that the SVRSS opened, after a year of preparation by our school board, Swan Valley School Division Superintendent John Kastrukoff and SVRSS Principal Larry Sackney,” said Evelyn Immerkar. “Most Grade 12 classmates who attended that first year only had 10 months to get to know each other. Many students from the year before came back just to attend the many new subject areas offered by this new school.”
“Other schools that came to the SVRSS were from towns such as Cowan, Renwer, Minitonas, Benito, Durban, Alpine, Kenville, Mafeking, Birch River and Bowsman,” said Lorna Bell. “Each one of us tried to get to know each other through sports, classes, vocational courses and a beautiful spacious school equipped with a cafeteria.”
Graduation ceremonies were quite different back in 1973 compared to what they are today. It seems like the event itself was still prominent, just didn’t have all the extra extravagances that today’s graduation ceremonies have.
“In 1973, there were 167 graduates of the SVRSS,” said Immerkar. “This remains the third largest graduating class in SVRSS’s history. The SVRSS Class of 1973 had a long graduating ceremony, because of the sheer number of students graduating. There were also many speeches and awards handed out.”
“We didn’t have caps or gowns, but it was nice because we got to see everyone all dressed up in their best attire,” said Bell. “We had a small dance in the gym afterward which only a few attended.”
There have been other high school reunions at the SVRSS prior to this one, however, it is the first 50-year reunion that has been held. The events sort of stretched out over the week and gave former classmates a chance to catch up and make new memories.
“Previously the SVRSS Class of 1973 held a 10 and 25-year reunion,” said Immerkar. “Classmates came from all over Canada and the United States.
“The Class of 1973’s 50-year High School Reunion was held on July 25, with a social evening for over 100 people attending. Pizza was delivered all throughout the evening, while guests registered and received their name tags. Everyone exchanged hugs, caught up on life events and looked at memorabilia displayed and prepared for the next day.
“The next day, a morning brunch was enjoyed and prepared by the Bowsman Curling Club with over 120 people in attendance,” said Immerkar. “During the afternoon, a tour of the SVRSS was arranged by the current SVRSS Superintendent, and former classmate, Cam Mateika, along with three tour guides.”
“Participants were amazed by the exceptional condition of the school, with its technological advancement in classes delivered and the new expansion being built,” said Bell. “Local caterer Kyla Kluke provided a supper with a traditional Ukrainian flair. Many remembered having such a meal once upon a time in Swan River, meanwhile, some have not experienced the tasty Ukrainian favourites.
“The evening then proceeded to greetings from our first principal Larry Sackney, vice principal Leonard Harapuak, Mateika, MLA and former classmate Rick Wowchuk, and bringing greetings from the Town of Swan River, former classmate Don Bobick. Frank Ooms was the Master of Ceremonies, along with Diane White Gilmoure. Classmates Heather Pawlinsky and Marilyn Woodard Brown prepared a heart-warming tribute, along with a memory tree displaying names of those classmates and teachers who had passed.
“Donna and the Dynamos were extremely well received by approximately 160 guests with a variety of songs we all knew,” said Bell. “They also received a standing ovation. Music from 1973 played in the background, while classmates reminisced for the duration of the evening while scrumptious food was available.
“On the Thursday morning, classmates who were available gathered to decorate our float for the Northwest Round-up and Exhibition. The next day was the parade and approximately 50 people gathered to ride the float or to walk alongside, handing out candy to onlookers. After the float was undecorated farewells and hugs were passed around with promises to gather again.”
SVRSS Class of 1973’s 50-year High School Reunion was definitely one for the books. Many of the former classmates thoroughly enjoyed rekindling friendships and memories from back in the day. Both Immerkar and Bell enjoyed being a part of putting together and planning the event for their former classmates.
“We enjoyed watching our friends recognize each other after 50 years,” said Immerkar. “Another surprise was watching classmates get their name tags, which had their grade 12 picture on it. The other surprise and gratitude were receiving all of the compliments, and thanks for all the hard work and months of planning with the reunion committee. Another surprise was having some of our local classmates show up to help us out with the final preparations.”
“The most important part was that our community stepped up to help us out with this event,” said Bell.”

Some bad apples are coming to town, but even though their show is known as the Bad Apples Comedy Show, these apples are likely the kind you do need to keep the doctor away. Three comedians are starting off their comedy show tour in The Pas tomorrow. Comedians Nelson Mayer, Clayton T. Stewart and Scott Porteous are bringing the gift of laughter to an audience at the Norlite Hall.
Each one of the comedians performing has had an introduction to comedy and a desire to make people laugh.
“I've been a huge fan of comedy for as long as I can remember,” said Mayer. “At a very young age, before I ever should have heard these comedians, I would remember comedy bits by Cheech and Chong and Andrew Dice Clay, and perform them on the playground during recess for a small crowd of classmates.”

Weeds are always a pain for any property owner, but the weed, Burdock, is making its rounds throughout The Pas and spreading. Local resident Gerry Kennedy, has noticed that Burdock is rampantly spreading throughout the community and wants the public to be aware of how noxious this weed can be.
“We live on Hogan Avenue and I’ve noticed that we had some spots that had small traces of the noxious weed Burdock, growing,” said Kennedy. “Now some of the places have it growing in massive amounts to the point of it looking like a jungle of Burdock growing. It’s also popping up all over in the back lanes throughout The Pas. “There seems to be lots growing out by the Carrot River Valley too.”

Two local events are coming up this weekend in the tri-community, focusing on the national epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two spirited people (MMIWG2S+). The MMIWG2S+ Family Wellness Weekend and the Annual Remembering Kendara Memorial Walk are being held in conjunction and are giving the families and friends of MMIWG2S+ an opportunity to spend time with others who have experienced the same kind of loss.
The MMIWG2S+ Wellness Weekend is being hosted through a partnership with KB Memorial and MKO MMIWG2S+ Liaison Unit.
“During the Red Dress event, we had a debriefing and were talking about how the energy was and how we needed more events in the community for impacted families going forward,” said event organizer Lorraine Ballantyne-Packo. “When we were talking with MKO, this came into the plans. We started planning the MKO MMIWG2S+ Family Weekend in June. We met on a regular basis and starting talking about what we would like to see happen with the event and what we would like to see people take away from it as well.
“Bringing MMIWG2S+ families together can be heavy at times, and we wanted this event to be an atmosphere where people felt comfortable being at, so we called it a Wellness Gathering. “It’s so important to us that MMIWG2S+ families do not feel alone. We’ve had to go through this alone and we know what it feels like. We want to make sure families know we are there for them and can connect them with the supports they need.”

A provincial roundtable was held a couple of weeks ago in Winnipeg focusing on MMIWG2S+, with families who were impacted by it in attendance. Nine Indigenous organizations, along with some funding from the provincial government, put on the Giganawenimaanaanig Manitoba MMIWG2S+ Regional Roundtable that was held over two days.
“I’m actually a member of Giganawenimaanaanig, which was known as the MMIWG2S+ Implementation Committee,” said Renee Kastrukoff. “That committee is comprised of several organizations from around the province and is tasked working to implement the 231 Calls to Justice. We organized the Manitoba MMIWG2S+ Regional Roundtable on July 13 and 14 in Winnipeg.

A series Moose Management Town Hall Meetings are scheduled to take place to discuss moose hunting in the Duck and Porcupine Mountains areas. The event is hosted by the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources (CIER), Manitoba Natural Resources and Development along with the Canadian Section of the Wildlife Society.
This is an opportunity for all licensed and rights-based hunters, community members and local stakeholders to learn and share about the current state of the moose population in the Duck and Porcupine Mountains.
“The Manitoba government is actively engaging with local Indigenous communities, licensed hunters, outfitters and other stakeholders to guide the development of a long-term sustainable moose management plan for the Duck and Porcupine Mountains,” said a spokesperson for the Province.

Opaskwayak Sundance was held from July 6 to 9 at Alvin and Marie Merasty’s property. This was the fourth Opaskwayak Sundance held and nine dancers graduated this year. Although the Opaskwayak Sundance is in its early years, Alvin Merasty have been involved in Sundances in other communities since 1985.
“This has been the fourth Sundance in Opaskwayak Cree Nation,” said Alvin Merasty. “This really got started because there’s been a resurgence of pan-Indianism. Joe Ross was instrumental in bringing Indigenous culture to a Christianized community. He was part of The Pas Friendship Center in the early 1970s, and he brought some Indigenous drummers and powwow dancers to teach it in the community. I really accredit him with how this cultural movement started again in the community.
“It strikes a chord in people, especially when they hear the Indigenous drumming and singing.

The Manitoba Underground Opera is returning to The Pas, giving children and people of all ages some exposure to classical music and opera. The goal of their Opera for Children Tour is to bring opera and classical music experiences across the province.
“The Manitoba Underground Opera was founded in 2008 by a group of students who wanted to share their love of opera,” said Manitoba Underground Opera Administrative Director Janice Marple. “Since then, we've grown into a fixture of Winnipeg's arts scene, presenting an annual season that includes three fully staged operas, concerts, and outreach events around the city. Our Opera for Children Tour began in 2017, and now brings opera to more than 1000 children all over Manitoba each year.”
This year’s production for the Opera for Children Tour is based on a classic children’s story that includes both animals and music.

Last week the Province announced that it was providing a grant of $90,000 to Canadian Kraft Paper Industries to help explore opportunities for transitioning to greener methods of operation. The Community Economic Development Fund also provided a grant of $75,000 towards this initiative and Canadian Kraft Paper Industries will invest $130,000 of their own funds to help them examine options for enhancing the use of biomass to generate energy at the mill in The Pas.