Finding a solution
Whether you see it or not, homelessness is a problem in Merritt. Patrick Lindsay, general manager of the Community Futures Development Corporation in Merritt, believes they should be using their social economy program to address this issue. Last week he proposed this to the board and they agreed. “They concurred that our mandate would fit into working on a problem like this,” he explains. “Homelessness is a problem. You can see it everywhere if you look.”

Sambazon Named Winner of The Secretary of State's 2006 Award for Corporate Excellence
Sambazon, the leading global supplier of the Amazon superfood Acai berry, has been named a winner in the small - medium business category for the Secretary of State's prestigious 2006 Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE). Guided by the principles of market driven conservation, Sambazon pioneered the first of its kind Fair Trade and Certified Organic Supply Chain of acai in Brazil and helped create worldwide awareness of the acai berry.

Health services co-op working hard to keep Golden seniors healthy, active and staying here
Karen Smedley wants to see change in Golden and she is seeking the community’s help to do so. For many years, Smedley says there was a mass exile of residents from Golden and Area A as they aged. She says there simply were not the services available here for an aging population. Then, a few years ago, cuts to the health system such as a loss of beds at Durand Manor sent even more seniors packing.

Sask. Wheat Pool merger bid shocks analysts, farmers
Analysts and farm groups were taken aback by Saskatchewan Wheat Pool's unsolicited offer Tuesday to merge with Agricore United, saying the bid would be one of the biggest takeovers in Canadian agricultural history. Regina-based Saskatchewan Wheat Pool said Tuesday it would be making a formal offer to combine its assets with Winnipeg-based Agricore United to create a $1.2-billion company.

Water shortage alarm sounded: Co-op wants to tap into Sandilands aquifer
Up to 45,000 people would run out of water and industries would shut down if a 1988-like drought hit southern Manitoba again, a Clean Environment Commission hearing was told Tuesday. "We would have to put a dam across the Red River. We would have no option," Sam Schellenberg, CEO of the Pembina Valley Water Co-op (PVWC), said in an interview after his warning to the commission.

Fundraiser won't help Hezbollah
Money raised at a United Nations agency benefit concert for Lebanon next month won't fund reconstruction efforts by Hezbollah, the Shiite Islamist militant group Canada considers a terrorist organization, organizers said yesterday. Instead, Oxfam will use the proceeds to fund women's farm co-operatives in the Bekaa Valley, restore microfinancing to craftspeople and tradespeople, and hire young people for temporary jobs in agriculture, transportation and construction.