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For 35 years the Yorkton Friendship Centre has given Aboriginal people in the city a place to find friends and be part of a community. During that time span, it's attracted families and drawn leaders from at least three generations.

The Centre marked its birthday with a supper Friday night, Sept. 8, attended by Yorkton Mayor Phil DeVos and staff from a number of local Aboriginal organizations. The supper tables were filled with 86 honored guests and centre regulars who were all there to celebrate and be celebrated.

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Since it was first identified 25 years ago, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or AIDS, has claimed the lives of around 25 million people worldwide. And, each day, an estimated 8,000 people are added to the list of the dead.

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The 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in Toronto and the growing number of human deaths linked to Avian Influenza worldwide have helped to drive home the importance of being prepared for a pandemic.

While initial fears that the strain of Avian Influenza that's claimed 143 lives in Asia and Africa since 2003 would soon begin to take its toll on this side of the ocean have all but dissipated, medical experts worldwide agree that the coming of a pandemic is inevitable, and that the time to prepare is now.

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For the last 10 years, radio station CFWE has turned Monday and Thursday nights into a social event in many Alberta homes. With transmitters scattered across the province, the station broadcasts bingo games into thousands of houses, many in remote locations where attending the popular and fun game at a bingo hall is impossible.

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Funding for five Aboriginal projects worth more than $550,000 was announced by the Edmonton Housing Trust Fund's Aboriginal Application Review Committee.

Night Wind Treatment Centre received $107,525 through the Urban Aboriginal Strategy (UAS), a federal program intended to improve the quality of life for urban Aboriginal people.

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After 150 years of being stored in a trunk in Scotland, 29 of the 39 Aboriginal artifacts collected by the 9th Earl of Southesk have returned home to Canada. The items, collected in the mid-1800s during the earl's visit to Alberta and Saskatchewan, were purchased at auction by the Royal Alberta Museum (RAM). The artefacts had been stored in the attic of Kinnaird Castle in Scotland.

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Although it's only two years old, the KAMADA Walk, which stands for Kokums and Moshums Against Drugs and Alcohol, has attracted interest and involvement from various Saskatchewan and Alberta First Nations interested in bringing an end to alcohol and drug abuse in their communities.

The KAMADA Walk commemorates the loss of loved ones due to drugs and alcohol.

The idea originated with Mary Naytowhow of Sturgeon Lake First Nation and Roy Peekeekoot of Ahtahkakoop First Nation.

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It's been 15 years of squabbling neighbors, government arm-twisting, cajoling, criticism and just plain hard work, but the Enoch Cree Nation is about to realize a dream when the

River Cree Resort and Casino opens its doors to the public in October.

Media types were given a sneak peek of the facility on Sept. 6 while the finishing touches were being put on casino amenities, including bars and restaurants, and the adjacent 255-room Marriott hotel.

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