Nickel Belt News
Volume 58 Number 11
Friday, March 16, 2018
Thompson, Manitoba
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Volume 62 • Issue 20
Downtown restaurant owner tells council he’s tired of picking up beer cans on his property BY IAN GRAHAM
EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET
nothing going on there at all. It’s just a free-for-all.” Changes to the community safety officers’ hours should also be considered, said the A&W owner. “I don’t think that program is working,” he said. “They should be starting at 6 o’clock at night and working until 2 in the morning.” In a public safety update presented later in the same meeting, recreation and community services director Sonya Wiseman said the number of CSOs went up from three to four as of April and that their two overlapping shifts cover 13 hours a day, five days a week, as well as some weekend shifts. During the community comments and feedback portion of the meeting after Oberdorfer’s presentation to council, Robert Chuckrey said RCMP should be enforcing laws against drinking in public. “There’s a law against it, plain and simple,” he said. “Make them do their job. I pay taxes to make sure this is done.” Oberdorfer told council he’s been in Thompson
Book a way to preserve and pass on memories of growing up in Churchill
The owner of a downtown Thompson business asked city council to do something about public drinking and littering during their May 16 committee of the whole meeting. Rick Oberdorfer, who owns the A&W franchise in Thompson, says his location just across the street from the Thompson Inn beer vendor is costing him time and money. “It’s just solid, solid beer cans all day long and I’m tired of picking them up,” he said, noting that while there are only a few dozen per day in the winter, in summer the number of empties in the area can reach hundreds per day. “I keep a pretty neat shack. I take pride in it. I want to stop picking up beer cans on my property.” Oberdorfer suggested council could investigate a way to encourage or require the beer vendor to take responsibility for keeping the area clean. “They need to have somebody on staff to deter people from drinking liquor outside,” he said. “There’s
Thompson Citizen photo by Ian Graham The owner of the A&W in Thompson says his business’s proximity to a beer vendor results in dozens or even hundreds of beer cans being tossed away on his property every day. since 1985 and intends to stay here but feels that the
city needs to make it a more enticing place.
“How do you attract someone into Thompson
when the community looks the way it does?”
Thompson recruiting auxiliary firefighters a 55-year veteran and former chief of Thompson Fire & Emergency The City of Thompson Fire Services, agreed that signing up for Auxiliary held a career fair in the the Thompson Fire Auxiliary is not Thompson Regional Community an individual commitment but reCentre May 7 with the intention quires the support of spouses, chilof attracting and recruiting more dren and other family members. auxiliary fire department members. “The time commitment is large,” Nickel Belt News photo by Ian Graham People of any gender, age or said Maskerine. “There are going Addictions Foundation of Manitoba northern director Gisele deMeulles has written a book about her experiences growing up, mostly in Churchill. skill set are encouraged to apply to be days that you’re called away with the promise of a rewarding from a Christmas dinner, an anniBY IAN GRAHAM For all the harsh weather to write things that you have ‘Oh, I’m just as bad, right?’ was not a very safe thing swallow when people say experience that enables one to give versary dinner or a birthday.” EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET to figure out. It’s pretty clear I have all these stories and to do but I jumped at it. I that Churchill residents and the dangers of polar back to the community. Auxiliary firefighter Alfred Though she’s now written when I get through.” I need to capture them for thought that was exciting should just find somewhere bears, deMeulles said if it “For me personally I like the Szabo, who has 28 years of experia book about her experienDeMeulles said she wrote my grandchildren really until the plane landed and easier to live. had been viable she would adrenaline, I like the physicality, ence, reiterated that firefighting is ces growing up in Churchill, her book, titled Whispers in because they will be lost if they started throwing the “To say, ‘Those people have moved back to Churchthe teamwork and the fact that you not to be taken lightly. Addictions Foundation of the Wind: Stories from the I don’t.” fuel off and I realized, ‘Holy choose to live there. They ill in a heartbeat. are helping prevent further prop“You’re helping someone in Manitoba northern director North - Life in Churchill for She also has a reputation cats, I was probably sitting should just leave,’ is quite “I miss the shoreline, I erty damage,” said Keith Burak, possibly their worst time ever, Gisele deMeulles said writ- a couple of reasons. as a storyteller herself. on a bomb.’” simplistic. It’s quite disre- miss the rock, I miss the an auxiliary firefighter for the past whether it’s their house burning ing wasn’t something she “I just sort of thought, “I had such a varied hisAnother thing that spectful. If we were in the polar bears even though 18 years. down or they’ve just had a car acalways thought she would you know what, this his- tory and I would tell people spurred her on was the same boat in another area they’re very dangerous and The application process involves cident,” he said. “It could be the do. tory, this stuff that’s in my stories and they would go, hard times facing Churchill I think we would scream I really miss the Hudson both a medical and physical com- worst day they’ve ever had.” “In my youth I never head, it’s going to be gone ‘That’s not true, is it?’ I’d go, since the Hudson Bay Rail- about that so why don’t they Bay,” she says. “When I go ponent as well as a background Information and applications to felt good at writing,” she if I don’t write it down,” she ‘Yeah it’s true.’ They’d go, way suspended operations have the option to do that? back home, standing on the Thompson Citizen photo by Carla Antichow check. join can be obtained by emailing said. “But when I moved said. “My kids are not go- ‘You didn’t do all that, did north of Gillam last spring. I think right now they’re Hudson Bay looking out on Both Burak and John Maskerine, dkondakor@thompson.ca. From left to right, John Maskerine, Keith Burak, Alfred Szabo and Al Meston of the Thompson Fire Auxiliary. to Thompson to get into ing to get it if I don’t do it you? You’ve got to be really “It used to be a really feeling like they’re pawns the bay, it just gives you an BY CARLA ANTICHOW
SPECIAL TO THE THOMPSON CITIZEN
the school of social work, and it’s something I’ve alat that point I had to write ways wanted my mom to for university and realized, do. My mom’s an elder and ‘Holy, I’m not bad at this, she’s an artist, she’s got so right?’ I certainly developed many wonderful stories bea lot of skill in university cause she always tells her and came out of there with stories at Parks Canada in a very strong skill in my Churchill and I’ve always writing and SWEEPING, confidence in LAWN hounded her, ‘Please, just POWER MOWING, my writing. I write very put it on tape, I will write it AERATION, DETHATCHING & SPRAYING clear and that’s it. It’s there. for you because your story Some people say it’s kind of is going to be lost,’ and she’s blunt or direct. I don’t tend never done it and I thought,
“Gravel on your lawn? Gotta be gone.”
old.’ I was like, ‘No, actually I did all that before I was 27,’ and they went ‘What?’” Looking back, some of those experiences are things she might not do again. “I did some pretty bizarre stuff like fuel hauls into the high Arctic at -35,” said deMeulles. “It didn’t dawn on me until after. That was a very dangerous thing to do. Being on a plane full of fuel
thriving large community and it’s just dwindled down to such a small population now,” deMeulles says. Though she’s not there any longer, her parents and her sister and other family members still are. “My cousin owns the hardware store there,” she says. Because of that, deMeulles finds it hard to
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?’”
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.”
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