Xavier Kataquapit

Diabetes awareness was the focus of inspirational and motivational speakers at the Timmins Diabetes Expo Sept. 17.
This year’s event featured guest speakers Mairlyn Smith, a professional home economist and author who is also an alumnus of the Second City Comedy Troupe, and Ginger Kanzer-Lewis, a past president of the American Association of Diabetes Educators and an international speaker on diabetes health issues.  

I was always curious about the heavens when I was a kid growing up in Attawapiskat. My brother Joe often joined me to stare up at the night sky.
Joe and I learned from an early age what many of the constellations were, where they sat in the sky and the movement of the planets. As a matter of fact, his interest was so great that he named his first son after the constellation Orion.
Orion refers to a hunter in Greek mythology.

More than 250 school children discovered the benefits of self-confidence through a diabetes prevention intiative in Timmins, Ont., Nov. 4.  
They made this discovery through workshops provided by Turtle Concepts and produced by Timmins Diabetes Expo. The one-day event was led by Turtle Concepts owner Dave Jones and held at the McIntyre Area.  
Turtle Concepts is a First Nation business that provides empowerment workshops for youth. Its founder and lead organizer is a member of Garden River First Nation – a community located just east of Sault Ste. Marie.

The big news everywhere these days is about the housing crisis and the terrible third world conditions in my home community of Attawapiskat First Nation. It is time that this news has gone viral.

We are all looking forward to a new year but many are fearful of the coming of 2012. Some believe that the upcoming year is marking the end of an historic period. Many think that this year will be a spiritually changing one and far too many believe it will mark the end of the world. This idea has been boosted in popular culture through movies, books and websites detailing how and why this year will mark the end.