With the special holiday coming this weekend, Southwest Region Director for the Manitoba Metis Federation Will Goodon understands the work needs to continue to improve the lives of his people.
Goodon, who has a strong connection to the Turtle Mountain area, has long been working with the MMF and Metis causes. He said he started more than twenty years ago with someone who would have future importance.
“I started working with President (David) Chartrand before he became president, in 1996,” Goodon said. “I was in-between employment and in my career. The MMF was in a tough spot at that time with a suspended president, and just went through receivership. President Chartrand ran for president in 1997 and I worked as his assistant for many, many years.”
For the first time in several winters, a groomed snowmobile trail connects to Boissevain.
In January, volunteers helped get signs up on the new trail in town. According to Greg Graham, the development got its start about a year ago.
“Last winter we talked about the groomer coming to Boissevain,” Graham said, referring to a snow groomer that makes and maintains the trails. “Years ago, the Killarney group would come from Killarney to #10 and then from #10 into Boissevain. Then the Killarney group stopped grooming to Boissevain.”
Although winter might be at its most bitter, Westview Lodge residents do not have to worry about being bored, just with keeping up to the schedule.
The senior’s residence has plenty of activities available to keep people busy. Activity Supervisor Cheryl LaRocque and staff make sure of that. Serving in that capacity for three and a half years in Westview, and more than 20 in different locations, she says she is responsible for planning the programs on a monthly basis and working with fellow staff member Nancy Bighia in a partnership to deliver them.
“We work together on everything, we’re really a team,” LaRocque stated. “In fact, we work with all of the different disciplines – nursing, dietary, maintenance. Everyone helps. We have a good team here.”
Although the field has thinned somewhat, there are still plenty of hair options in Boissevain.
Over the past couple of years, established follicle businesses like Hair Teasers and Boissevain Barber have been closed. For others in the community, they are still going strong with perhaps new opportunities.
REKK Beauty is the largest in town. Established by Kamara Sisson, the business on Broadway Street has seen plenty of work, becoming a full on salon. According to the proprietor, everything is going well.
“REKK Beauty is going great,” Sisson said. “We’ve tripled our size into a beautiful space where we’ve grown not only our size, but our services as well.”
