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Meet Kevin Chief, your new MLA |
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His vision of possibilities and overcoming challenges was made clear during the election where he was able to engage the community in the political process, recruit over 350 volunteers ranging from youth to seniors and first-time voters, and increase the voter turnout by over 1000 votes. After his win, The Point Newsletter met with Kevin to ask a few questions about his background and his new role as MLA.
Elaine Bishop, Executive Director of the NPD Women's Centre enjoying the Austin Street Festival Can you tell us a little about your background? I was born and raised in the North End of Winnipeg. I went to Strathcona Elementary, Isaac Newton Junior High and Tec Voc High School. I received an athletics scholarship and was a student athlete at the University of Winnipeg. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Justice and Law Enforcement and am currently completing my Master’s degree in education. My professional work includes Youth Coordinator with the Aboriginal Centre of Winnipeg, Consultant with the River East Transcona School Division, Executive Director of the Winnipeg Aboriginal Sport Achievement Centre and Executive Coordinator with the University of Winnipeg’s Innovative Learning Centre. What motivated you to go into politics? Even before I had seriously considered a career in politics, I was encouraged to get involved by many individuals in the community that worked alongside me on initiatives, events and programs. These people saw the potential for me to be a good spokesperson for our area and to represent them in government. Supports I received from the Point Douglas riding enabled me to overcome challenges and barriers that I faced growing up and I decided to run in this riding as a way to give back to the community that has given me so much.
Kevin Chief, MLA, explaining to Premier What will be your biggest challenge as a MLA? I think the biggest challenges we face are also our greatest opportunities. The key will be being able to bring many stakeholders together that want to build a safer, stronger and more vibrant community. It will be vital to connect schools, non-profit organizations and police, in a coordinated effort to maximize services and resources for families. Another challenge is to develop an effective communication strategy to provide the services and resources of government to community members. Can you talk a little about the biggest challenges Point Douglas faces? One of the biggest challenges we face as a community is bringing all three levels of government together to work collaboratively on issues such as crime and safety, housing and improving education. By bringing resources together we want to create the opportunity for Point Douglas residents to get engaged in a process that will maximize an individual’s talents to support our community. As we move forward we will face many challenges and barriers but it will be important for us as a community to not be defined by those issues but by how we overcome them. We will be a community that maximizes potential and sees possibilities where others see only challenges and barriers. ♦
by Joan Dentry, Issue Editor Well, the provincial election has come and gone and the voters have had their say. Congratulations to Kevin Chief, (New Democratic Party) on a decisive win, and best wishes on your new pathway. The residents of Point Douglas look forward to working with you for the betterment of our community. We also wish to acknowledge all the candidates in the election: John Vernaus (Progressive Conservative), Mary Lou Bourgeois (Liberal), Teresa Pun (Green), and Darrell Rankin (Communist). All candidates spent hours going door to door, dropping in to events, attending forums and getting the message out in many other ways. Democracy cannot exist without a vital opposition and a lively exchange of views. Thank you for your dedication and perseverance. Winter is just around the corner, and we have already had our first dustings of snow. The river will begin to freeze soon. It is a dangerous time for children or pets to be playing on or near the river, especially with all the work being carried out on the Disraeli Freeway. Please explain the dangers to your children, and be alert while walking the river paths. As the snow piles up over the winter, drivers should be on the alert for children darting out from snow banks. The rash of fires in Point Douglas this fall is a cause for concern. Residents can minimize the chances of fires in the neighbourhood by following a few simple procedures. Keep your back yards and lanes clear of garbage and litter. Do not leave combustible material lying around in your garages or back yards. Use garbage bins appropriately. Do not put large items like mattresses or furniture in them, as the garbage trucks cannot handle them. Place large items beside the bins and call the City of Winnipeg at 311 to ask for a pickup. The pickup service is free. The city has promised a speedy response to calls, so if your items are not picked up within a few days, call the Powerline (956-4090) and ask for assistance. Winter can be beautiful and exhilarating. Let’s all bundle up and enjoy all that Point Douglas has to offer. ♦
By Edward Nelling Settling into the North Point Douglas neighborhood has been really awesome for me since I came up to Winnipeg. I came from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with another volunteer, Matt Hoffman, at the end of the summer to live and work at The Welcome Home for the year. Matt graduated from Immaculata University last spring with a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology and next fall, he is hoping to join the Redemptorists, the community that sponsors and runs The Welcome Home. I recently graduated from LaSalle High School and am hoping to go to school out on the west coast of the United States next year. We were greeted with the great weather that lasted into October. As everyone told us how cold the Manitoba winters are and how soon it would be getting cold we thought, “Are they joking? This is better than the weather back home” as it hit 27 degrees one warm day in early October. But we soon shut up and put on our coats when the weather started to change. Ana Larmour, another live-in full-time volunteer at The Welcome Home arrived a few weeks after us from Saskatoon and has graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce. Along with the three live-in volunteers, Father Mike Smolinski, the director here at The Welcome Home, keeps us all busy and on our feet so everything can go smoothly here on Euclid Ave. Father John Sianchuk is another live-in community member here and is usually on the run to help out at Blessed Vasyl Velychkovsky’s Shrine at St. Joseph’s Church on Jefferson Avenue. He is a great addition to The Welcome Home as this is his first year living here. When not busy here at The Welcome Home, Anna and Matt help out around the neighbourhood at Norquay Community Centre and Micah House, and I have just begun helping out at North Point Douglas Women’s Centre, working with Hilary and Allen, two of the coolest Youth Outreach Workers ever. Our ‘Kids are Creative’ Art Program still has room for kids. On Tuesday nights at 6:30pm we, along with a few other volunteers who are in university, welcome any children from the neighbourhood who are in grade one or older to come for arts and crafts and/or go on outings. Call 946-5352 and speak to one of us for more information about ‘Kids are Creative’ or our other programs. The Welcome Home is located at 188 Euclid Ave. ♦
By Craig Ross, Acting Primary Health Director, MCC Mount Carmel Clinic is very pleased to announce that Melissa Guimond, our Aboriginal Health Promotion Facilitator, has accepted a permanent position as a Social Worker in the Primary Health department of Mount Carmel Clinic, working with our team of doctors, nurses, and other professionals to provide holistic care to our clients. Congratulations Melissa! Our new Aboriginal Health Promotion Facilitator, Nicole Martel, is already busy! This winter, she’ll be working on a new Aboriginal ‘peer to peer’ toolkit on reproductive health. This toolkit will include materials and workshops that will be delivered to youth, with a focus on Aboriginal traditional ways and teachings about sexuality. The curriculum will include culture, history, Sexually Transmitted and Blood-borne Infections (STBBI) prevention, knowledge of self, and healthy ways of communicating. Supported by Manitoba Healthy Living, our objective is to explore how sexual and reproductive health is more than just healthy sexual organs, pregnancies, or avoiding STBBIs. With a focus on making this ‘youth friendly’, a group of Aboriginal youth will be recruited to get involved in the project development and will be trained to present this material. Training and mentorship will be provided by Sage House’s ‘Anti Violence Advisory Team’ (AVAT), with Nicole overseeing the project as a whole and promoting the Workshop/Toolkits to community organizations. More details will depend on our youth advisors, so stay tuned! To contact Nicole Martel, MCC’s new Aboriginal Health Promotion Facilitator, you can call 589-9473 or e-mail nmartel@mountcarmel.ca.
Finally, Mount Carmel Clinic would like to sincerely thank all of
you who were able to attend our 85th Anniversary
Celebration on September 21. Held in the MCC parking lot, the
celebration was a huge success (despite some chilly weather) and
featured guest speakers, musical entertainment, delicious food, and
even pony rides! We look forward to 85 more years of serving our
By Nancy Dyck, Principal The most important thing to know is that there are many ways to become involved in your local community school depending upon your time, inclination, and skill set. There are always ways to participate in the life of a local school, even if you aren’t a parent or guardian.
We also expect our students to have opportunities to give back and to learn outside of the classroom. We want them to learn about volunteerism, leadership, and the world of work and to have chances to take responsibility, make decisions and show community involvement. To achieve that we have students volunteering, too! Our leadership students work in the office at recess time, some help with hallway décor, others do announcements, and others help clean the fish tank or assist with younger children. Our leadership program encourages students to be school patrollers and to take leadership within their community as a responsibility. They have fun doing it too! Last week one student in grade 6 won the opportunity to be the “Teacher for the Day”. He worked with his classroom teacher to plan and prepare a day that had all of the necessary learning elements with a little fun thrown in. He did a wonderful job, the students in the class showed great respect for him as their ‘teacher’ and I took the opportunity to play the ‘disruptive student’, which was great fun for everyone. It is a good thing for children to have these experiences, to get to see what kinds of things they can do and will do in the future as our community leaders. Should you wish to volunteer at Norquay School please contact Marlene Wood or Nicole Braun @ 943-9541. ♦ Centre top
By Chris Burrows
If you know of a kid who is not going to school, please let the Powerline know. We can work with the school and help them get an education. Call 956-4090 or email point.powerline@yahoo.com ♦
By Joan Dentry
Fun in the Bouncy House The Burrows Avenue block party began as an idea proposed by a couple of neighbours on the street. They were brainstorming ideas about how to make the street safer and promote a friendly neighbourhood. They came up with the idea of having a block party on the boulevard to introduce everyone to each other. A couple of more people offered to help, and the Burrows Neighbourhood Block Party Association was formed. The committee quickly discovered that it is not a simple matter to organize a block party. There are many hurdles to overcome. The city must grant a permit, the party must have insurance, barricades need to be rented and put up, and food must be purchased. This made the party more expensive than originally anticipated. What to do? Apply for a City ‘Per Capita’ Grant through Councillor Eadie, and a United Way grant, of course. All of this involved more paperwork, including making up a petition and having everyone on the street sign it, giving permission to have the party, in order to secure a permit from the city. As well, organizations and stores were canvassed for donations. What a lot of work! There were times when it seemed like the party would never happen, but everyone persevered. Finally the big day arrived on September 10th. The weather cooperated; the day was gorgeously sunny and warm. In the afternoon, the volunteers blew up balloons, set out tables, pulled out barbeques, and organized food and games. As the time for the party to begin grew near, children gathered on the boulevard, enjoying the visit by the police on horseback, and anticipating the arrival of the Bouncy House. The Bouncy House was definitely a hit with all the children, but they also enjoyed playing games and having their faces painted in dramatic patterns, as well as eating hotdogs, hamburgers, chips, and ice cream. The grownups enjoyed getting to know each other and matching faces and names to homes on the street. Some of the parents helped supervise games and the Bouncy House. All too soon it was dusk and time to clean up. Many of the children helped pick up all the litter, and some of the partiers helped pack things up. Everyone agreed the block party was a great success, and everyone wants another one next year. The Neighbourhood Block Party Association wishes to gratefully acknowledge the following donors: The United Way of Winnipeg, The City of Winnipeg and Councillor Ross Eadie, The Winnipeg Police and Fire Departments, the RCMP, Pepsi, Safeway, the Point Douglas Resident’s Committee, Gunn’s Bakery, and other companies and individuals that gave support. Special thanks go to the Winnipeg police for providing us with handouts on the Neighbourhood Watch Program and the Block Parent Program. Several households picked up flyers and expressed interest in learning more about how to make our neighbourhood safer. Most importantly, mega thanks go to the committee: Victoria and Xenios Christopher Marckx, Jared and Christal Siemens, Jim Chapryk, and Bill Dentry. What a fantastic job you all did! ♦
By Rick Caslake - Program Manager
Food-on-Wheels volunteers Robin Partridge and Sherry Bailey By the time you read this, our unusually long, hot, dry summer will have given way to early winter, with little or no real appearance of fall, as far as temperatures were concerned. One day it was +28C and two days later the forecast high had dropped to +10C. As I’m writing this, it’s a chilly +5C outside. The annual signs that winter was approaching were there… falling leaves (almost all in one day thanks to very strong winds); the squirrels gathering food and finding places to store it; and of course, the geese and ducks flying south.
Food-on-Wheels volunteers But, there were also a few new signs of changing seasons this year. Our volunteer groundskeeper, Raymond Vilneff, cleaning up the grounds and flower beds and getting everything ready for the first snowfall; Thanksgiving weekend brought over 1,000 pounds of donated fall harvest vegetables and assorted groceries to our Seniorsʼ Food-On-Wheels program – we delivered an all-time high of 43 large boxes in North Point Douglas, with enough leftover to share with three other groups; and, here inside Barber House, we’ve turned off the air-conditioning and started up the heating system. Speaking of winter, we’ve had a few folks ask us about snow clearing – the answer is yes… we will be helping our seniors to keep their steps and sidewalks safely clear of snow this winter. If we’re all going to be sliding into winter, as this issue of The Point suggests, hopefully, we won’t be doing it down icy steps and landing on our backsides. We just need volunteers to register their name, address and phone number, so we know who we can call on when the white stuff arrives. Come to Barber House in the morning from Monday through Friday for a coffee, tea or hot chocolate and we can match you up with a neighbour senior. Why not make it a group event? Bring a friend or two with you… many hands make light work. By now, we should have our sewing machines here with thread, cloth and associated notions (if you don’t know what “notions” are, ask Grandma… it’s a word not much used by folks under 55 anymore). We’re hoping to have new drapes sewn for Barber House this winter, and we’d like to start a ‘Star-Blanket’ project here as well. Have a wonderful winter season and I wish you happiness and joy. If you have a few minutes, drop in at Barber House for coffee, and to see our Christmas tree and decorations. Barber House 55+ Active Living Centre, 99 Euclid Avenue (the big pastel-yellow house) ♦
New boards members, a move and employment initiatives keep PDRC hopping By Chris McCarville, Executive Director
The board decided to change the format of how we report back to the community. Our monthly board meetings will now be just for directors, although guests can still present to the board by calling our office to be put on the agenda. We will be having quarterly community meetings where we report on our work and listen to residents regarding their needs and ideas. Watch your mailbox for news of the first meeting, which will be held in January. Other big news is our upcoming move to 765 Main Street. A new office building, owned by BUILD, Pollock’s Hardware and Manitoba Green Retrofit is opening this winter and we are taking possession of a second-floor office on January 1. Stop in and say hello. Strategic Plan gets to work Point Douglas Residents Committee has been working on a strategic plan. We had community consultations earlier this year with partner groups and residents. Two things rose to the top of our priority list – housing and employment. We support housing in many ways, from Exterior Fix-up Grants, to helping someone replace their furnace when it goes suddenly. This year there were four streets selected for extra exterior fix-up grants. We also support non-profit and private property developers who are either building new rental properties or renovating existing apartments to make them better. We plan to continue doing this housing work, as well as organizing workshops on tenant rights. Employment is a gap in Point Douglas. Although groups like the NPD Women’s Centre partner with CAHRD on helping people find work, residents told us about some other things they’d like to see happen. Most of these ideas were around casual employment such as babysitting, handyman work, and yard work/snow shovelling. Many agencies in Point Douglas have talked about the need for home-based child care and offering information sessions on how people can get this started in their homes. We are also working with the government on the 80 jobs that will be available once the Riverpoint Centre (former Sharon Home on Magnus) is finished. All of these ideas are great, but we need to know what people are interested in. We plan to hold a community information session to see what people’s needs are when it comes to earning a bit of extra money or finding a full time job. If you have ideas about this, please call our office at 927-3827, and watch your mailbox because we use flyers to promote our events. ♦
Yellow Warehouse Development By Andy Wood Dear Point readers and neighbours, We’d like to take this opportunity to share an item of interest concerning the Yellow Warehouse on Main St. at the tracks. An item that is both sad and hopeful at the same time. Since purchasing the Yellow Warehouse in 2007 the Vineyard church has pursued a number of development opportunities with various organizations – unfortunately none have worked out. It was our intention to clean up and fix up the whole property. This block includes our main building at 782 Main where we’ve developed 3 of the 4 floors into a gathering area, office space, Flatlanders Inn and a new Art Space gallery and studio, the Memorial Garden for missing and murdered women at the corner of Sutherland and King, and an enclosed yard for the residents of Flatlanders Inn! In the meantime the condition of the Yellow Warehouse, which was not in good shape to begin with, has further deteriorated. In the spring the City issued us a ‘Repair or Demolish’ order. Due to the lack of appropriate development opportunity and the prohibitive cost of getting the building even ready to renovate, we must demolish it. While this is sad for us, and others who love old buildings, we are hopeful about the potential for future development that could happen in the space left behind. We all know Main St. does not need another abandoned and ugly lot - we will leave it neither. We’d like to thank those who participated in our first consultation meeting hosted by Bridgman Collaborative on Sept 30th to discuss what could be done with the space once the Yellow Warehouse is gone. It was great to hear different community members’ perspectives, ideas and other development plans for the area in general and the Yellow Warehouse lot in particular. Let’s keep the dialogue going. If you have ideas, suggestions, or want to be involved in future consultation meetings, please let us know. We’d love to hear from you. Your neighbours at the Vineyard. Contact Nathan or Andy at: 582-2900, admin@vineyard.ca
By Mary Mathias
I've been a volunteer at ArtsJunktion for a few months, and I am constantly amazed at the amount and variety of reusable materials which come through the doors. Paper, wood scraps, fabric and carpet samples, buttons, picture frames and mats, containers of all types, binders, cardboard tubes ... and much more. Even more amazing is the creativity of the artists, educators, and local residents who come in to gather materials and talk about how they intend to use the stuff. Samples of items made by ArtsJunktion volunteers and visitors are on display and from time to time workshops are offered at very reasonable prices. At present there is no charge for materials taken from the ArtsJunktion depot. Visitors are asked only to record an estimate of the volume of recyclables they take and to be sensitive about sharing materials which may be highly desirable. The best way to find out about ArtsJunktion is to drop by. Access is the loading dock entrance on the east side of 312 B William Ave. Fall-winter hours are: Monday, 12-5; Wednesday and Thursday, 1-5; and Saturday, 10-2. Check the website www.ArtsJunktion.mb.ca or phone 942-5865 for more information. ♦
By Chris Burrows, Secretary SISTARS (Sisters Initiating Steps Toward A Renewed Society) is an organization that grows and changes with the community. We have reached one amazing goal, a state-of-the-art childcare facility and probably the most beautiful seniors centre, and without doubt the oldest! Now we are discussing the best way to manage the complex for the future. The seniors centre is open in the morning from Monday to Friday for anybody over the age of 55. There is free coffee, toast and sometimes goodies, also a free phone and internet for seniors. Our childcare Executive Director, Crystal, has resigned for health reasons and the childcare centre is undergoing changes. If there are changes you would like to see, please give us your suggestions. The SISTARS board is looking for new members; some of us are getting a bit long in the tooth and it is time to move on to the seniors’ board. I am resigning from the board, as the disease (scleroderma) that I have is really slowing me down.
If you are interested in joining SISTARS please contact our secretary, Angel Peterson, at 942-1904 ♦ by Shirley Kowalchuk
Barry Hammond, our very own Santa, all dressed for 'work' "Children often ask me - are you the real Santa?" says the man that many Point Douglas children know as Santa Claus. "I always say to them - check the beard! Give it a little tug", he chuckles, eyes twinkling and his very real beard glistening snowy white. "I am very busy; I’d say beginning about December 6 and finishing off the evening of December 24." This is when local schools battle for him to make their students' dreams come true as he arrives toting a sack full of toys and exclaiming "Merry Christmas to all!" Yet, he insists his real name is Barry Hammond. "Barry Hammond" claims he received the highly recognizable red suit when his wife, Mary, asked him what he wanted for Christmas one year. Many wonder about the curious poetic convenience of his wife's name rhyming so well with his - much like the text of a Christmas card. Outside of the Christmas season, Hammond continues to spend his time serving others as a volunteer for numerous causes." We all need to share our talents, wherever we can", he says. He believes that people are hard-wired to live cooperatively as "sharers", and it is this reciprocal connection that gives meaning to life. "We are oriented to be social creatures, not just individual creatures."
by Christie Paul, Neighbourhood Resource Coordinator
The Women's Centre holds its AGM at Barber House Since its beginning the North Point Douglas Women’s Centre has been challenged with finding the funding necessary to do all the work that needs to be done. These challenges continue today. In light of these challenges, and also for some programming reasons, the Centre has made the decision to eliminate the position of Safety Coordinator. The Centre expresses its appreciation for the work and the program ideas that Safety Coordinator Linda Williams has brought to the Centre and to North Point Douglas over the past three years. We wish her well as she moves on from the Women’s Centre. Safety programs at the Centre will continue as an essential part of our work. The work previously undertaken by the Safety Coordinator is being reassigned to other staff. For example, the Good Food Box is being moved to the food security work being done by Jess Lambrecht, our Drop-In Coordinator, who works with our Community Kitchen. Elaine Bishop is now supervising the Walking School Bus and the Youth Outreach Workers. Over the coming weeks, decisions will be made about who is taking on other aspects of the safety program. Please be in touch with Elaine with any questions you may have. Fall/Winter Programs The Fitness Program is back by popular demand. Join us Tuesday mornings at 9:30am for a workout at the YMCA downtown (admission and bus fare provided) and Friday mornings at 9:30am for our neighbourhood fitness walks. Collect your fitness points and cash them in for healthy food prizes! Community Kitchen is back! – cooking up healthy family-friendly dishes like chicken pot pie. Check out our calendar to find out when we're cooking. The Fall session of the ‘Nobody's Perfect’ Parenting Program is underway on Saturdays. To register for the winter session please call 947-0321 and ask for Jess. AGM Update Our 9th Annual General Meeting was held in September at Barber House. Author of the book All Our Sisters, Susan Scott, gave a moving presentation about the unique issues women face around homelessness. We sadly accepted the retirement of Board Chair Irene Brown, who has been involved with the Women's Centre since the very beginning. We are hopeful that new board members Cheryl Hood, Jackie Britton, Mary Lysecki, Jane Walters, and Tannis Tormey will bring with them the same dedication and passion that Irene always shared with the Women's Centre. Lin Conover, Erin Galston, Helen Blonski, Sarah Kavadas, and Sister Johanna Jonker also continue their work on the Board. We feel we have a good team to carry forward the vision of the Women's Centre into the years ahead. ♦
by Jordan Van Sewell When I look around the neighbourhood I still see a few election signs that have not blown down yet. A reminder to congratulate Kevin on his successful campaign. Good work. I am looking forward to some progressive and positive times. Anyone following
the CBC radio profile of South Point Douglas a few weeks ago may
have some residual questions about the whole thing. How is it that
the councillor for the area stated that things were coming along and
progress was being made? The very next week the Manitoba Métis
Federation announced $60 million going into new construction right
here in SPD. What!? Nobody
Yesterday was the day I was to have this article ready and instead I went cycling around the neighbourhood. I went by the incredible Disraeli construction site and saw they’d taken the day off as well. Aren’t they trying to get that done real soon? Don’t they work weekends to that end? My Grandma used to always say “Make hay while the sun shines” Obviously hay and bridges are two different things. I’ve been taking a lot of heat regarding the impending demolition of the old airport. They want to tear it down; repurpose the materials and the artwork and put up a new air museum where it stood. They “stepped on” the original building to the point where its faded glory had lost its shine. The discussion on this salvation should have started a very long time ago; years ago. Our system, our society seems to have little value for the old. So do we need to regulate what goes on? Absolutely! Let’s do that through responsible stewardship and policy. That means when you own something you look after it. Pretty basic, right? That’s the steward part. The other part, the policy is for when there’s to be a redevelopment of something already there. Could mean tearing it down, could mean including and modifying to accommodate the stakeholders (that’s us).Then there’s no confusion, no misunderstanding. Currently there are listings of these worthy building but it’s not across the board. With policy, we don’t have wide gaps in what was in your community nor do you have inappropriate add-ons that will surely face the same situations that we have today. Higgins for example; let’s see, the Royal Alec Hotel, the Immigration Bldg., Ogilvy Oats and a number of other buildings now replaced with chain link fences and empty lots. Instead, civic responsibility is shrugged off, passed on and no one is saddled with… well, with the responsibility. It’s interesting that everyone has opinions on what should and should not be saved. Along with these opinions sometimes come reasons. Where are the informed opinions on what is being built, what’s replacing these buildings? How many new examples of bad architecture do we need to see? We are now building tomorrow’s nightmares. What will people be saying when there needs to be a decision made on whether to save or demolish these current gems? On other notes, the “boutique hotel” on Waterfront is a go, right? The Neeganin residences are almost complete. Bill Thiessen is building new condos on Waterfront. The “Cube” has people living in them. The Braunstein Block on Higgins is being refit for rentals. (My own plug) The South Point Douglas Freeway Millionaires’ Club is in place. My neighbour moved and repaired a shed. Wow! Hang on folks! We live in fast paced times. Does this not sound like a boom is underway? ♦
The Point would like to thank our advertisers, past and present, for their support of this vital community service. We urge our readers to support our advertisers at every opportunity. We are a community. The Point strives to be a non-partisan organization, and as such, we welcome campaign advertising from all candidates in our civic elections. Please contact our Advertising Sales Manager for further information.
Letters to the Editor We welcome your letters and opinions at any time. You may contact us by email at info@pointdouglas.net , by telephone at 942-6811, by writing to us at The Point Community News, c/o #1 - 116 Grove St. Wpg MB, R2W 3K8, or by dropping a letter into our mailbox at that address. ♦ |
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Currently,
we have volunteers working in our school library; we have a Boys’
Book Club being run by two university students who volunteer their
time. And, we are always grateful to accept any support we can get.
If volunteering isn’t possible for you on a regular basis we can
always use a volunteer or two on special event nights. Evenings like
“Make and Take” and “Family Fun Nights” are great opportunities to
come out and serve coffee or help run some of the evening events. 
If
you are a parent or guardian and your schedule allows, we have a
lovely Parent Room that is always open to you. Come on down and have
a cup of coffee, read the newspaper and have a visit with either of
our community support workers, Nicole or Marlene. We want our school
to be friendly, open and accessible. We want our parents and
guardians to share with us their dreams for their children. 
Powerline
wants to keep kids in school. Making sure children are getting to
school is the most important thing adults can do to decrease crime.
Kids who drop out of school at grade7 or before will not have a job.
As kids grow up without an education, they become a huge problem to
the community. Bored youngsters turn to vandalism and petty crime.
Garbage bin fires are entertainment for chronically bored children;
the fire trucks arrive with sirens and excitement. Through the
summer, bicycles and lawn mowers ‘disappear’ and are sold to
somebody else by school dropouts looking for ways to get some cash.
Sadly,
sooner or later these kids, who have no education or positive
expectations for their lives, end up in gangs – the only place they
feel welcome and accepted – and then move into drug dealing, theft,
and worse. All the vandalism and crime costs the tax payers so much
money, and in the end, we all pay.
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At
the time of this interview, his wife Mary shooed him along to
another meeting for yet another good cause. He checked
(seemingly twice!) his jam-packed appointment book to schedule
another interview with The Point newsletter.
♦
