The Town of The Pas Council met on May 8, for a regular scheduled council meeting. During Citizens Period, a delegation was made about an overdue water bill and a request to forgive the amount owing.
“There are costs to produce water, so there is an actual cost to it,” said the Town of The Pas Mayor Andre Murphy. “We can be flexible on payments and work with community members when something happens that’s beyond one’s control.
“It’s really difficult for council to forgive water debts, because then becomes everybody’s responsibility to pay that amount, which isn’t fair. All of our taxpayers pay for water. Water in a community is a service that is provided and needs to be paid for, which is no different that paying one’s electricity bill.”

Board game enthusiasts have a new challenge coming to the community. Warhammer 40k is in the works to take place in The Pas this summer. Warhammer is a tabletop war game originally created in 1983 and has been deemed the most popular miniature war game in the world.
Several editions have been released since the game’s conception, but the overall concept has remained the same.
“Warhammer 40k can be played a few ways, from casual, competitive and anywhere in between,” said Warhmmer 40k Organizer Garret Olson. “The game itself ranges from around one to three hours, depending on the size of armies being played.

The art of snowshoeing is alive in well in northern Manitoba thanks to Indigenous snowshoe maker and racer Diane Buck. As a child, Buck can recall snowshoes being a staple for people in the community and she remembers participating in snowshoe races as a kid.
“At a very early age I was a competitor in snowshoe racing at the Trapper’s Festivals and in Moose Lake, which led me to love snowshoeing,” said Buck. “I did a lot of racing in various communities after that.
“Moose Lake was actually a snowshoe town, where everyone had their own snowshoes and did a lot of it in the winter months. My dad was also a snowshoe maker and he made a couple year, but not as many as I do now. He taught me how to make the traditional style snowshoe.

The Pas Arts Council recently recognized the efforts of one of its long-standing dedicated volunteers. Jan McDonald has served as a volunteer with The Pas Arts Council for 37 years. It started out as a position with the organization, but then she decided to stay on as a volunteer.
“I had been attending The Pas Arts Council events for years and when a job posting came up for an Arts Council Coordinator I applied and got the job,” said McDonald. “I worked in the position for two years and then I decided I would stay on as the volunteer treasurer.
“I have been the volunteer treasurer since 1987 and the chair of the touring committee. Other positions I have held have been the chair of the Northern Juried Art Show (NJAS), the chair of the Northern Arts Committee, the Northern rep on the Manitoba Arts Network, and chair of the Cultural Days Committee.”

This past weekend there were lots of red dress and MMIWG2S+ events in the tri-community to raise awareness, and to show support and love for those who have experienced this injustice. The Pas Family Resource Centre organized a Red Dress Round Dance last Friday at the intersection of Edwards and 2nd Street, to show support for National Red Dress Day.
“We had such a huge turnout and it exceed our expectations, and what we had hoped for even,” said The Pas Family Resource Centre’s Renee Kastrukoff. “There were over 150 people in attendance for the Red Dress Round Dance and lunch. It was absolutely fantastic and beautiful to see so many community and family members come to honour their MMIWG2S loved ones. Even if people didn’t have a MMIWG2S+ individual they were directly connected to, lots still came out to show their support.

All lakes in Manitoba are at risk for Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) such as zebra mussels. Sadly, some lakes in the province are already plagued with AIS, which cannot be reversed. In an effort to ensure Riding Mountain National Park remains free of AIS, a new program has been implemented.
“Parks Canada appreciates the strong connections people have to Clear Lake, in particular the people of the Keeseekoowenin Ojibway First Nation and members of the Coalition of First Nations with Interests in Riding Mountain National Park,” said Parks Canada Riding Mountain National Park Public Relations and Communications Officer Mireille Kroeker. “Parks Canada learned of a positive test result for environmental DNA for zebra mussels at the end of January. Even a single test result is a warning that must be taken seriously.

After having a successful community Pride Parade and Festival, Tri-Community Pride is in the planning stages for the event’s return. Tri-Community Pride wants to continue the valuable awareness and work done by groups in the past that organized the Pride crosswalk and bridge painting, Pride floats in the Canada Day Festival and Pride gatherings pre-pandemic.
“We are trying to plan our second annual Pride Parade and Festival, and so far we’ve got it scheduled for June 10, in the afternoon,” said Tri-Community Pride Vice President Derrick James. “For the parade, people will gather at The Pas Royal Canadian Legion at 1 p.m., and we will start the parade at 2 p.m.

An event to celebrate and commemorate missing and murdered Indigenous people will be held in the tri-community this week. The event is open to all and will include a sacred fire in the Kinsmen Park, some entertainment and snacks.
“KB Memorial in partnership with MKO MMIWG Liaison Unit is hosting a Celebrate and Commemorate Vigil on May 5, for family and friends to respectfully celebrate and remember the lives of their missing and murdered loved ones around the sacred fire,” said Gloria Ballantyne-Packo. “It will be a candlelight vigil and we will provide the candles and red glow sticks for children.”

Just before Christmas, Margaret Barbour Collegiate Institute (MBCI) received a grant to provide every family that had students in the school, a holiday food hamper. The project was a huge success and led MBCI to be on the radar to receive additional funding to create another project to help students’ families.
“The original hamper project we did at Christmas was from funding we received through Northern Manitoba Food, Culture and Community Collaborative,” said MBCI Principal Trevor Lane. “The organization reached out to us again, because they were so happy with the project that we did and they had some remaining funding left. They wanted to know if we had any projects we wanted to do, so I was thinking how can I encourage and entice more parents to come to parent teacher evening?