Neepawa Natives lend support to HMK's reading program

By Eoin Devereux

The Neepawa Banner

Students at Hazel M. Kellington School in Neepawa recently received some extra support for I Love to Read Month. On Tuesday, Mar. 3, members of the Neepawa Natives hockey club participated in the campaign, which is geared towards getting students excited about reading. Players read to the kids and also helped around the classroom.

Read more: Neepawa Natives lend support to HMK's reading program

Social to help those displaced

By Kate Jackman-Atkinson

The Neepawa Banner

A benefit social has been planned to help those who lost their homes in the fire at Neepawa Home Hardware last Wednesday night. To be held March 21 at the Yellowhead Centre, the social evening will be held in two parts, offering something for everyone.

Read more: Social to help those displaced

The start of a long process

By Kate Jackman-Atkinson

The Neepawa Banner

Almost a week after the fire, Neepawa Home Hardware owner Pat Guilbert has a long road ahead of him.  On Wednesday evening, he watched the store he bought in September 2008, and expanded since then, burn. Like the tenants, he too lost irreplaceable items in the fire.

Read more: The start of a long process

‘We lost everything, we came out with the clothes we had on’

By Kate Jackman-Atkinson

The Neepawa Banner

It was just after 6 p.m. last Wednesday when Arlene Vaughan first noticed smoke rising from the back of the Neepawa Home Hardware building. In addition to working in the store, Vaughan and her husband Tom lived in one of the four apartments above the hardware store. 

Read more: ‘We lost everything, we came out with the clothes we had on’

Q and A with Neepawa fire chief Scott Gibson

By Eoin Devereux

The Neepawa Banner

Just over a week removed from the devastating blaze that destroyed the Home Hardware building in Neepawa, Fire Department chief Scott Gibson describes exactly how the evening played out for the volunteers and emergency personnel who were the first line of defence against the flames.

When did you first receive the call?

“At around 6:13 pm, we received the initial page to a structure fire. As soon as you walked out the door that evening, you could see the smoke, so we knew we were going to something serious, right from the start. We began entry into the building. There was a key holder there who let us in. At that time, there was no smoke, no flame on the main, store level of the building. There was nothing showing on the second level, other than smoke. Upon investigation into the building, the fire was actually burning between the two shells of the old building and the new building.”

Read more: Q and A with Neepawa fire chief Scott Gibson