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Below is a list of the fun-filled summer events to be presented at a campground near you! The following programs can be seen at West Hawk Lake Campground (Friday) and Falcon Lake Campground (Saturday). Look for weekly event posters for a more detailed look at the event times and locations.

Hey Kids – Ask the interpreters how you can become a Park Explorer, Junior Naturalist, or Nature Detective. You can earn pins, certificates, and prizes!

August 16-22
UFO = Unbelievable Falcon Lake Occurrences – From a cataclysmic event to a monumental sighting, South Whiteshell is home to some of the most interesting and bizarre stories in Manitoba . Learn what shaped West Hawk Lake and about the 1967 UFO sighting.

August 23-29
Predators and Prey, Butterflies and Bugs - We are all connected to each other from the top of the food chain to the very bottom and learn how we fit in there too.

September 1-5
More than Meets the Eye – Once thought of monsters of the woods, its now time to hear their story.

September 6
Annual Whiteshell Fish Fry – Join interpreters this Labour Day for some tasty fun at the Whiteshell Fish Hatchery. A fin-taste-tic time is guaranteed!

Tour the Whiteshell Fish Hatchery. From eggs to fingerlings, Manitoba Fisheries ensures our fish futures everyday. Visit our Hatchery Interpretive Centre to learn how the hatchery works towards a sustainable future. Tours are Free and everyone is welcome to attend.
Hours of Operation: Saturday, May 22 - Monday, September 6, 2010, 7 days a week from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM

2 GUIDED TOURS daily at 11:00 am & 2:00 pm. Tours are outdoors and approximately 40 minutes in length. Drop-ins are welcome at any time.

Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Watch for our weekly posters or for more information drop by the Falcon Lake Interpretive Centre or the Whiteshell Fish Hatchery, call the interpreters at 204-349-2641 (Interpretive Centre) or 204-349-8204 (Hatchery), email us at falconlakeinterpreters@gmail.com or visit us online at manitibaparks.com

Brereton Lake, Big Whiteshell, White Lake, Betula, Nutimik, Otter Falls, and Opapiskaw.

Look for weekly events posters for detailed event times, locations, and specifics.

August 16 - August 22
Whiteshell Wonders and Wanderers
Blast into the past with the Interpreters to bring alive the early explorers and campers of the Whiteshell.

August 23 - August 29
Wonderful Wetlands
Wander into the wet world of wetlands and discover all the flora and fauna that depend on these special places.

August 30 - September 6
Nature Calls
Have a howlin. good time as we chirp with the birds, growl with the bears and croak with the toads..

Admission is free
Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult to all events.
For more information on interpretive events - drop by the Alfred Hole Goose
Sanctuary (369-5470) or the Whiteshell Natural History Museum (348-2846), email
us at Sloan.Cathcart@gov.mb.ca, or visit us online at ManitobaParks.com Programs are subject to change*.

BANNOCK POINT PETROFORMS GUIDED TOURS
Teaching places. Doorways to other worlds
Physical reminders of instructions given to people by the spirits

These rock alignments, called petroforms, serve as special places of teaching and healing.

Explocre the Bannock Point Petroform site with the Park Interpreter's as we learn and appreciate the importance of these spiritual places.

The Bannock Point Petroforms are located along PR #307, between Betula lake and Nutimik Lake.

For more information, call the Park Interpreter's office at 204-369-3157, or e-mail: sloan.cathcart@gov.mb.ca
or go online at manitobaparks.com

Impaired Driving:
On June 28th, 2010 a 36 year old Falcon Lake man was charged for impaired operation of a motor vehicle while operating a scooter.
On July 7th, 2010 a 50 year old Portage La Prairie man was charged for impaired operation of a motor vehicle.
On July 9th, 2010 a 21 year old Winnipeg man was charged for impaired care and control of a motor vehicle.
On July 30th, 2010 a 20 year Falcon Lake man was charged for impaired operation of a boat.

Thefts:
On June 5th, 2010 a women's purse was stolen from the Falcon Lake Resort Bar.
On June 9th, 2010 a vehicle was stolen from the Falcon Lake area. The suspect entered a residents home throughout the night and took the keys. The vehicle has since been recovered in Winnipeg and a 21 year old man is currently in the process of being charged for the incident.
On June 21st, 2010 a green Weber Genisus BBQ with a value of $1200 was stolen from the Falcon Lake area.
Also on June 21st, 2010 a report of stolen boating equipment was reported. Missing were 12 brand new body glove neoprene life jackets (blue,red and yellow in color), a black umbrella and white table, 1 Slalom "Obrien" ski (blk and orange in color), ski rope and a new "Band Wagon" tube (yellow, red with blue bottom). The incident may have occurred some time in May.
On July 22nd, 2010 a theft of stolen brick was reported from Block 13 on South Shore Road in Falcon Lake. Numerous boxes of decorative rock bricks which included side and corner pieces were taken sometime throughout the night.
On July 27th, 2010 a green "Norco Penacal" 10 speed bicycle was stolen from the front of the Falcon Lake Nest Restaurant. The value of the bicycle is $350.
On July 31st, 2010 a gas can and tackle box were stolen from a fishing boat in Block 13 on South Shore Road.

Mischief:
On June 21st, 2010 damage was done to a front end loader situated in a gravel pit west of Highway 11 and south of Highway 1. There us currently a cash reward being offered by the owner for the conviction of the culprit.
Also on June 21st, 2010 minor damage was done to the West Hawk Campground Office in West Hawk Lake. Four of the culprits were arrested for the incident.
On July 7th, 2010 the former West Hawk Yacht Club was reported to be vandalized as the roof on the lower patio was sawed off and thrown into the water. Picnic tables were smashed and the dock was set afloat. There is currently a cash reward being offered by the owner for the conviction of the culprit.
On July 12th, 2010 a 2003 Ford Ranger was vandalized outside the West Hawk Inn. A large amount of damage was done to the vehicle.
On July 13th, 2010 a 2009 Chevrolet Avalanche was vandalized outside the Falcon Lake Resort.

Break and Enter:
On June 11th, 2010 a travel trailer was broken into and numerous property was stolen. The property has since been recovered and the arrest of the suspect is pending.
On June 21st, 2010 a cottage at Star Lake was broken into and liquor was stolen. Drugs:
On June 1st, 2010 a drug seizure of cocaine and ecstasy was made in West Hawk Lake, Manitoba. The investigation is still ongoing.
On June 10th, 2010 a small drug seizure of marijuana was made during a traffic stop.
On June 12th, 2010 a small drug seizure of marijuana was made at the Falcon Beach Campground.
On July 20th, 2010 a small drug seizure of marijuana was made during a traffic stop.

Regards, Cst. Daniel Archibald Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Falcon Beach Detachment
"D" Division
Phone: 204-349-8035
Fax: 204-349-8845

It has certainly been a strange year – going from extreme heat to violent storms (almost what seemed like a repeat of June 2007); back to heat, then really cool and now back to heat again with more rain scheduled for Monday. We experienced another bad storm last night will high winds and hail. We just don’t know what to expect anymore. I suppose we shouldn’t complain too much, it could be worse. At least we aren’t dealing with floods as the people of Pakistan and China or the forest fires in British Columbia. It is too bad we couldn’t send some of our rain out west to B.C. The smoke from their fires has been steadily migrating East and we have some of that ‘haze’ today. It is quite noticeable when you look out over the lake.

The storm that we had about a month ago washed out a lot of the block roads and plugged most of the culverts into some properties. The highway (307) has been flooded all summer just east of the Resort and also east of Betula on the way to White Lake. The ground is just so saturated that the rain has no place to go except sit in the hollows and becoming breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

I noticed today that the chipmunks and squirrels are busy knocking the acorns out of the oak trees and scurrying to store them for the winter. I think too, that it won’t be too long before the hummingbirds decide to leave (usually early September) and then all of the other birds will follow soon after. The last ones to leave are always the geese, so it seems. Inevitably, fall time will soon be on our doorstep.

Our Betula Lake Association has enjoyed a good year, after not doing too much since 2006. The weather always held out whenever we had events planned and we were blessed with pretty good participation in our events.

We held our Poker Derby and Pig Roast on July 17^th and fed about 80 people. Our convenors were a bit disappointed, but all-in-all it turned out nicely – we normally have around 150 – 200 mouths to feed. Thank you to all of the volunteers who helped to make the event successful – Sue Desjardins (who did most of the work with hubby Jim), Darcy Davies, Donna & Randy Woods, Pat & Joy Gowryluk and all of the cottagers who allowed people to come onto their property or to their dock to fill the poker hands. There were a bunch of folks that offered to help with odds and sods and we took them up on it.

Our Sports Weekend, held on the August long, was also well attended. The children had great fun with the races and the prizes were excellent. Thanks to Dean DelBigio, Gord Ledingham and Janet Sanders for getting all those little ones (and big ones) lined up in such an efficient manner for the races.

Thank You to Sue for purchasing and looking after the race prizes; Joann & Marc Mercier for purchasing and coordinating the grocery scramble; Dave Bell for coordinating and taking care of our newest event “Ultimate Frisbee”. Most of us had never heard of it, but the kids loved it.

Gaeline Delmarque is also to be commended for taking on a Bicycle Decorating Contest – it was nice to see the variety of decorations on the bikes and the kids ingenuity. Once again, the Cutts’ family took care of the “Jelly Bean Guessing Contest”. The winner of the guessing contest was Dillon Moon of Block 5 with a guess of 350 jelly beans - actual count was 387. Grandpa and Grandma Moon had to deal with the ‘sugar fix’ after the jar was delivered.

Much ‘Thanks’ to Donna Woods who worked her way around the field distributing the ‘Grocery Scramble’ stickers to all the ladies who qualified; our clown was John Collo of Block 2 who looked like he was having a great time handing out the candy – Thanks John.

Lastly, but certainly not least, a “HUGE” Thank You to Jack and Kathy Kelly and the rest of the clan for organizing and completing the Pancake Breakfast.

This weekend is always a lot of planning and hard work by everyone involved, but it all seems to come together in the end.

Our only disappointment was the George Braun Memorial Horseshoe Tournament. We usually have about 20 teams ready to participate, but this year we had only 6 teams. This event went by quickly but everyone still had a great time. The ‘Champs’ are Barry Hatley and Tara Hall and the ‘Consolation Winners’ are Sheila Schepp and Frank Quiring. Thanks to Dick Monk who helped Lyall and myself get the pits dug and the horseshoes collected.

All I can say is that ‘A GREAT TIME WAS HAD BY ALL’ and for those of you who weren’t able to join us – maybe next year.

Our final event for this year will be the Wiener and Corn Roast on September 5^th, 2010 at the cook shack from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Depending on our expenses, we may have to take up a silver collection. Our coordinators for this event are Marc Mercier in charge of the Wiener Roast and Gord Ledingham in charge of the Corn Roast.

Again, Thank You from the Executive to everyone involved (I apologize if I missed mentioning anyone).

Hopefully, we can build on our re-start and get our events back to what they were before the Big Blow Down of June 2007.

Attended the Funeral of Warren Donald who was the Pres. of your building tenants assn.

He was the Son of Ross Donald; an old friend & Brother of Bill Donald who was my Brother -in-law.

I told Joan (Warrens widow) when we sell our house we would look at trying to find a Suite in your building.

I delivered Meals on Wheels to a few tenants & think it is an ideal spot for old folks because you can walk to almost everything you need!

We are on Dorothy Lake & rely on Inge Sholtes to keep you posted on any news.

-we have a Porcupine on the Block & it has managed to eat ( & destroy ) a lot of our Jack Pines over the last 2 or 3 years but the Ranger wont do anything about it because they say it has just as much right as we do to live in the Park & I guess he is right; so we put up with it.

Our Daughters dog found out about Quills in the face so they are not as helpless as you might think to see them moving around & ignoring us!

Peter Swanlund is now in Deer Lodge Veterans Quarters & I'm sure would like to see any old friends.

The water level in the River started out very low but has now returned to normal levels.

Cottages on the Block continue to change with ownership.

The trend seems to be to knock down the old original buildings & put up larger ones with year round facilities.

Thats all the news worth reporting; as the saying goes; so will close for now.