Despite being a relatively small program, band and music at Boissevain School are an important part of education.
On December 11, the annual Band Christmas concert was held at the school. Music and band teacher Megan Pokrant is in her second year at Boissevain School, and has seen the impact music has on local students. She said a lot of work goes into preparation for concerts like this.
“Weeks of preparation goes into a concert for our students,” Pokrant said, “and as their director, that looks like many months for me. Planning, score study, instrumentation, skill level and interesting music all take a very long time to sort out. I started looking at music for this year’s concert last April, hoping to find content suitable for our bands to perform.”
It is taking time, but Manitoba Hydro is diligently working to get power back on in Southwest Manitoba after a curious weather turn this past weekend.
The area saw some heavy frost recently, which might make everything look like a winter wonderland, but creates havoc for our electrical provider. Last weekend, the foggy conditions added to the load, which caused some serious problems. According to Hydro spokesman Bruce Owen, the utility was on top of the situation as soon as they saw it move in from the west.
“It moved through Southern Manitoba,” Owen explained, “in a band from Virden right to the border, to almost Highway 75 before it stopped. They never had it in the Steinbach, Morden area. It came out of Saskatchewan, where it did a lot of damage.”
With nearly 210 tonnes of material dealt with at the local recycling depot, the volunteers continue to make a major contribution to the community.
In their facility north of town, the recyclers have been turning used materials into gold for many years now. According to Clayton Fisher of the committee, it continues to go well.
“Everything is going good, pretty steady,” Fisher said. “The numbers are all pretty steady with other years. Some bounce around a little, but they are all still good.”
The biggest change for the group was the addition of the new building in 2015. Fisher said the difference is really in size, saying the new facility allows the volunteers to get all of the recyclables together without bumping into each other.
Those promoting an assisted living project in Boissevain have set themselves an ambitious goal, but one they feel is doable in order to get the job done.
On November 14, the committee trying to build a complex for seniors in the community met with a packed room in the Community Centre. With the local MLA and a Boissevain accountant joining them, they presented their plans and different ideas for donors with the hope of sparking greater interest.
