Nickel Belt News
Volume 58 Number 11
Friday, March 16, 2018
Thompson, Manitoba
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Wednesday, March 17, 2021
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Volume 61 • Issue 11
50 new cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba March 15, more variants of concern being detected BY IAN GRAHAM
Thompson/Mystery Lake health district. 151 Manitobans are in hospital due to COVID-19, including 56 with active cases. Eleven of those with active cases are in intensive care and there are 12 people who are no longer considered infectious in intensive care. Twenty-five of the people in hospital are from the north, 19 of whom are still considered infectious. Five of the northern residents with active infections are in intensive care, as are two who are no longer considered infectious. No new deaths were announced on Monday so the total number of Manitobans who have died since the pandemic began remained at 917. The five-day test positivity rate on March 15 was 4.8 per cent. “We are seeing test positivity creep up,” said Roussin. “It’s going to really impair our ability to vaccinate Manitobans if we start seeing high test positivity again.” Roussin also said he believes the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe despite adverse reactions reported in
Book a way to preserve and pass on memories of growing up in Churchill
EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET
Manitoba reported 50 new cases of COVID-19 March 15 and said that 18 more cases of the variant of concern first identified in the United Kingdom have been detected, one in the Interlake-Eastern health district and the remainder in Winnipeg. There have now been 30 cases of the U.K. variant detected in Manitoba and 11 of the variant first identified in South Africa. Nineteen of these cases are still considered active, said chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin at his March 15 press conference. Of the 41, eight are related to travel and nine are not linked to either travel or close contact with known cases. The rest are close contacts of known cases. Sixteen of the new cases announced on Monday were from Northern Manitoba, including five new cases in the Pukatawagan/ Mathias Colomb health district, which now has 172 active cases. There were also four new cases in the
other countries and said he was scheduled to receive it March 19. Minor changes were made to public health orders March 12. Household groups attending religious services no longer have to wear masks while seated
provided they are sufficiently distanced from other households and not singing. Restaurants and licensed premises can allow groups of up to six from more than one household to sit at the same table on outdoor patios.
Beginning March 15, visitors to acute care facilities like hospitals and health centres as well as licensed personal care homes will be provided with medical masks to wear while they are inside. The program will be phased in at
different facilities over the course of the week. The 35th death of a northerner as a result of COVID-19 was reported March 11, a man in his 70s from the Thompson health district, according to provincial data online.
Violent four hours in Thompson sees two men hospitalized with stab wounds, house door kicked in and residents pepper sprayed Beltconnected News photo by Ian Graham One 16-year-old male is in custody and police believe incidents mayNickelbe
Addictions Foundation of Manitoba northern director Gisele deMeulles has written a book about her experiences growing up, mostly in Churchill. BY IAN GRAHAM EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET
Though she’s now written a book about her experiences growing up in Churchill, Addictions Foundation of Manitoba northern director Gisele deMeulles said writing wasn’t something she always thought she would do. “In my youth I never felt good at writing,” she said. “But when I moved to Thompson to get into the school of social work, at that point I had to write for university and realized, ‘Holy, I’m not bad at this, right?’ I certainly developed a lot of skill in university and came out of there with a very strong skill in my writing and confidence in my writing. I write very clear and that’s it. It’s there. Some people say it’s kind of blunt or direct. I don’t tend
to write things that you have ‘Oh, I’m just as bad, right?’ was not a very safe thing re- aI have 29-year-old was and ap- to Around sameattime, all theseman stories to Thompson figure out. It’sRCMP pretty clear do but Ithe jumped it. I sponded two separate proached on Public Road received a report of when I gettothrough.” I need to capture them for police thought that was exciting stabbings andsaid a home-invaother males really and a stabbing occurred DeMeulles she wrote by my two grandchildren until the that planehad landed and sion assault overWhispers the course that evening when her book, titled in female because who they attempted will be lost to if earlier they started throwing thea of four hours March 10-11 steal his possessions. The 35-year-old male walking on the Wind: Stories from the I don’t.” fuel off and I realized, ‘Holy and incidents washas pepper sprayed Thompson South was Northbelieve - Life inthe Churchill for victim She also a reputation cats, I was Drive probably sitting may be related. and several times approached a couple of reasons. as a stabbed storyteller herself. on a bomb.’”by a group of The spate of violent inciand taken to hospital who assaulted him, “I just sort of thought, “I had such a varied his- youths Another thing that dent calls began before non-life-threatening stabbing him times. you know what,just this his- with tory and I would tell people spurred her several on was the 11 p.m. when was alsofacing taken Churchill to hospitory, thisWednesday stuff that’s in my injuries. hard times stories and they would go, He head, it’s going to be gone ‘That’s not true, is it?’ I’d go, since the Hudson Bay Railif I don’t write it down,” she ‘Yeah it’s true.’ They’d go, way suspended operations said. “My kids are not go- ‘You didn’t do all that, did north of Gillam last spring. ing to get it if I don’t do it you? You’ve got to be really “It used to be a really and it’s something I’ve al- old.’ I was like, ‘No, actually thriving large community ways wanted my mom to I did all that before I was and it’s just dwindled down do. My mom’s an elder and 27,’ and they went ‘What?’” to such a small population Contact she’s an artist,Nelson she’s got so at 204-307-0281 Looking back, some of now,” deMeulles says. many wonderful stories be- those experiences are things Though she’s not there pruderspropertyservices@gmail.com cause she always tells her she might not do again. any longer, her parents and stories at Parks Canada in “I did some pretty bizarre her sister and other family to discuss your property needs! Churchill and I’ve always stuff like fuel hauls into the members still are. hounded her, ‘Please, just high Arctic at -35,” said “My cousin owns the put it on tape, I will write it deMeulles. “It didn’t dawn hardware store there,” she for you because your story on me until after. That was a says. is going to be lost,’ and she’s very dangerous thing to do. Because of that, never done it and I thought, Being on a plane full of fuel deMeulles finds it hard to
Yer snow gotta go!
swallow when people say tal with non-life-threatening that Churchill residents injuries. should just find somewhere At 2:15 easier to live.a.m., officers responded a homepeople inva“To say,to‘Those sion on McGill Place. A lone choose to live there. They male suspect kickedisinquite the should just leave,’ door of a residence, pepper simplistic. It’s quite disresprayed occupants spectful. the If we were in and the ran away. followed same boat Police in another area the suspect’s footprints to I think we would scream about that so why don’t they have the option to do that? I think right now they’re feeling like they’re pawns in a political game and that’s really sad for them because I think the people of Churchill really want to thrive. They’ve built their worlds there. How would we feel if someone came to you and said, ‘I’m sorry, you have to leave your home community and we’re going to displace you somewhere else and all your loved ones and your history is gone?’”
For all the harsh weather
aand nearby andof arrested the home dangers polar him. deMeulles said if it bears, A been 16-year-old malewould from had viable she Thompson is currently in have moved back to Churchcustody and RCMP continue ill in a heartbeat. to “I investigate. miss the shoreline, I Anyone withI informamiss the rock, miss the tion about these polar bears evenincidents though is askedvery to call Thompson they’re dangerous and RCMP 204-677-6909. I reallyatmiss the Hudson Bay,” she says. “When I go back home, standing on the Hudson Bay looking out on the bay, it just gives you an incredible sense. You feel so small and you feel great.” Now that she’s got one book under her belt, deMeulles says she may try to produce another. “I have another book in me,” she says. “It’s a darker story, more about personal growth and struggles. Maybe in the next five years it’s something I’ll focus on doing.”