Grand Forks Gazette, May 22, 2013

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LITTLE OAK REALTY

Student wins contest

Artist Terry Jackson and students of Grand Forks Secondary School (GFSS) Aboriginal education worked on a mural for the past year and unveiled it along with a Gathering Drum last Wednesday. From left: GFSS teacher Dave Reimer, School District 51 Aboriginal education instructor Wanda Hecht, Alexis Switzer, GFSS Aboriginal enhancement worker Victoria Runge, Boundary All Nations Aboriginal Council (BANAC) President Joan Holmes, Jackson, Abigail Oliver, Jazlyn Skeet and Austin Trudeau-Brooks sitting by the mural. Story on page 14.

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SASCHA PORTEOUS Gazette Reporter

Residents and tourists visiting downtown will soon be able to take advantage of free wireless Internet. The Rotary Club of Grand Forks has spearheaded a free Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity, a technology that allows an electronic device to exchange data wirelessly) project with the City of Grand Forks and School District 51. Up to four Internet access points will be installed throughout the downtown core, which will allow people to freely access a wireless network connection on their cellular phone, laptop or computer. “It benefits the community and we see that there is a potential for commuters and tourists to come through and identify that it’s a Wi-Fi zone and come in and use the facilities within Grand Forks,” said Wayne Christensen, Rotary’s director of community services.

The City of Grand Forks and SD51 already have a fibre optic cable running through a majority of the city. “It connects all the city buildings and so, with this cabling already there, it’s not a big issue to then purchase wireless points and connecting them along our fiber optics, which is on telephone poles or power poles, and then making free wireless available,” said Michael Strukoff, SD51 superintendent of schools. Rotary has covered the cost of the technology for the four access points, said Diane Heinrich, the city’s corporate officer. “We have to determine with our (technicians) where these are going to work as far as covering the (largest) radius because the intent is providing the downtown sector with Wi-Fi capability,” she said. Christensen said the strength of the signal would lie along Market Avenue as it has the highest concentration of businesses. “The initial projection is we were hoping it

would get from Fifth Street to Second Street including the Overwaitea parking lot but the cost value with that (was not feasible),” said the local Rotary director of community services, but he said that more access points could be added further down the road. “We are shooting (to have free Internet) for the July 1 weekend so that we can garner some of that (tourism) traffic that comes through.” Internet access signs would also be situated at either end of the city to show that Grand Forks has a designated free Wi-Fi zone, added Christensen. Heinrich believes that it will open up more opportunities for people to come downtown. “People are going to be able to access information, the tourism traffic would be able to pick up on that and use it downtown,” she said. “There is going to be more of a draw for the downtown core to encourage people to come down and use it and I’m sure that they will be patronizing businesses at the same time.”

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