With no end in sight for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Park City Men’s Shed is doing what it can to keep its doors open.
After shutting down in March in light of the pandemic, the Park City Men’s Shed group began meeting again in late June.
“We’ve been able to open things up on a limited basis,” explained organizer Fred Bobrowski. “With winter coming up, there aren’t many outdoor activities. So coming to visit and socializing, that’s big.”
Bobrowski got involved in Men’s Shed after hearing a presentation that Doug Mackie, chair of the Canadian Men’s Shed Association, made to the Transcona Council for Seniors. Park City Men’s Shed has been meeting at the Elmwood/EK Active Living Centre (180 Poplar Ave.) now for over two years. The group now meets Mondays and Wednesdays from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Membership in the group costs $35, $20 of which pays for a membership in the Elmwood/EK Active Living Centre, which offers a number of other programs throughout the week.
“Guys come and do their own thing,” Bobrowski said. “A lot of guys do walking sticks or canes. Some are still doing cottonwood carving. Some guys are making some good sized Christmas table ornaments. Stuff like that. We hope to get some guys in who can provide some instruction.”
The group has moved from the back room where members worked closely together, chatting or taking a break from projects to play crib, to the larger front room of the Active Living Centre.
“It may be a while before we can do that again, the way things are going,” Bobrowski admitted. “But mostly, the guys come to have a coffee, visit, socialize and have some quiet time to work. It’s not complicated, that’s the beauty.”
While operating with a limited capacity, the space provides plenty of room for members to work on their projects.
“We practise social distancing,” Bobrowski said. “Some guys feel more comfortable with a mask, some don’t, so they make sure they social distance. There’s lots of room. We do whatever it takes.”
Maurice Williamson, an East Kildonan resident, joined the group a couple of years ago. Taking a break from carving walking sticks, he said he enjoys coming out to the group each week, when he can.
Phil Veness, another EK resident, was attending his first meeting on Sept. 21 after hearing about Men’s Shed on the radio.
“I was looking for something to do,” he said. “Thought I’d try it out.”
While the woodworking projects are what anchors the group, it’s the fellowship that keeps members coming back each week. The social isolation that resulted during the lockdown in response to the COVID-19 reinforced how important the group is to many members.
“The guys were eager to meet,” Bobrowski said. “It’s good to see them all again.”
However, Bobrowski added that there are a number of members who aren’t comfortable meeting up again just yet.
“It’s just not for them until things are a little safer,” he said.
The Park City Men’s Shed are hosting a tool sale on Sat., Oct. 3.
“If people want some half-decent tools at a good price, we’re here,” Bobrowski said.
The sale, which takes place at 180 Poplar Ave. from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and also includes garden tools, acts as a fundraiser for the group.
“It helps pay for our costs, wood and stuff like that,” Bobrowski added.
With no end in sight for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Park City Men’s Shed is doing what it can to keep its doors open.
After shutting down in March in light of the pandemic, the Park City Men’s Shed group began meeting again in late June.
“We’ve been able to open things up on a limited basis,” explained organizer Fred Bobrowski. “With winter coming up, there aren’t many outdoor activities. So coming to visit and socializing, that’s big.”
Bobrowski got involved in Men’s Shed after hearing a presentation that Doug Mackie, chair of the Canadian Men’s Shed Association, made to the Transcona Council for Seniors. Park City Men’s Shed has been meeting at the Elmwood/EK Active Living Centre (180 Poplar Ave.) now for over two years. The group now meets Mondays and Wednesdays from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Membership in the group costs $35, $20 of which pays for a membership in the Elmwood/EK Active Living Centre, which offers a number of other programs throughout the week.
“Guys come and do their own thing,” Bobrowski said. “A lot of guys do walking sticks or canes. Some are still doing cottonwood carving. Some guys are making some good sized Christmas table ornaments. Stuff like that. We hope to get some guys in who can provide some instruction.”
The group has moved from the back room where members worked closely together, chatting or taking a break from projects to play crib, to the larger front room of the Active Living Centre.
“It may be a while before we can do that again, the way things are going,” Bobrowski admitted. “But mostly, the guys come to have a coffee, visit, socialize and have some quiet time to work. It’s not complicated, that’s the beauty.”
While operating with a limited capacity, the space provides plenty of room for members to work on their projects.
“We practise social distancing,” Bobrowski said. “Some guys feel more comfortable with a mask, some don’t, so they make sure they social distance. There’s lots of room. We do whatever it takes.”
Maurice Williamson, an East Kildonan resident, joined the group a couple of years ago. Taking a break from carving walking sticks, he said he enjoys coming out to the group each week, when he can.
Phil Veness, another EK resident, was attending his first meeting on Sept. 21 after hearing about Men’s Shed on the radio.
“I was looking for something to do,” he said. “Thought I’d try it out.”
While the woodworking projects are what anchors the group, it’s the fellowship that keeps members coming back each week. The social isolation that resulted during the lockdown in response to the COVID-19 reinforced how important the group is to many members.
“The guys were eager to meet,” Bobrowski said. “It’s good to see them all again.”
However, Bobrowski added that there are a number of members who aren’t comfortable meeting up again just yet.
“It’s just not for them until things are a little safer,” he said.
The Park City Men’s Shed are hosting a tool sale on Sat., Oct. 3.
“If people want some half-decent tools at a good price, we’re here,” Bobrowski said.
The sale, which takes place at 180 Poplar Ave. from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and also includes garden tools, acts as a fundraiser for the group.
“It helps pay for our costs, wood and stuff like that,” Bobrowski added.
Sheldon Birnie Community journalist — The Herald
Sheldon Birnie is the community journalist for The Herald
Email him at sheldon.birnie@canstarnews.com
Call him at 204-697-7112
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
