Building bridges between all communities
Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/272116
PAGE 10 • MARCH 2014 RCMP SETS OUT PRIORITIES FOR THE YEAR On June 7, 2007, Gina and her son Lucas Degerness, met with the vice-principal at Prince George Secondary School. Lucas, who goes by Luke, was passing all of his classes but Gina hoped that picking up an extra course during summer school would set him up for success in the coming year. Like many other Grade 9 studentsfacingtheprospectof summer school, Luke wasn't very happy about spending more time in a classroom. Fol- lowing the meeting,Luke was sent back to class and Gina went to check on him before leaving the school, but he was nowhere to be found. Gina searched everywhere, but her son had disappeared. Throughout the police investi- gation, it was determined that Luke had spent the night at a friend's place. Leads would come in and were investigat- ed by police, including many possible sightings in the Prince George area, but sad- ly, Luke's family and friends still wait for answers. "I wish I had the opportunity to watch Luke go through his teenage years; the ups, the downs and everything in be- tween," says Gina. "We all owe it to this fam- ily to keep searching for answers. There is no end to Gina's nightmare until Luke is found," says Christy Dzikowicz, Director of Miss- ingKids.ca. Luke has missed out on op- portunities as a big brother to his now seven-year-old sister, Jade. They loved spending time together and it pains Gina to think of all the holidays and birthdays, including Luke's re- cent 21st birthday, that have gone by without him and his great sense of humour. "The disappearance of Lu- cas Degerness continues to be a priority for the RCMP. We would like nothing more than to reunite Lucas with his fam- ily," says Cst. Darren Blom of Prince George RCMP. "If Luke were to read this, I would want him to know that he is always welcome to come home," says Gina. "If anyone has even the smallest piece of information that they have been holding on to for the past seven years, it is never too late to share an anonymous tip that could be the missing piece of the puzzle. I will nev- er stop missing you, Luke." Luke has brown eyes and at the time of his disappearance he had brown hair. Anyone with information about Lucas Degerness' disappearance is urged to contact Missing- Kids.ca at 1-866-KID-TIPS (1-866-543-8477). MOTHER OF MISSING SON: 'I WILL NEVER STOP MISSING YOU, LUKE' As we've now settled into another year, I'd like to share some of "D" Division RCMP's key priorities for 2014. Collaboration to Prevent and Reduce Crime We recognize that our ongoing efforts to making Manitoba communities safer and healthier mean that we have to tackle the root causes of crime. To do that, we'll be launching a crime reduction strategy across Manitoba that aims to reduce criminality and calls for police service. A key part of that approach will be to build partnerships with other agencies and communities to make the most of each other's strengths. Together, we can better combat the root causes of crime, including the health and social aspects in which we play an important role through crime prevention and education initiatives. Reducing youth and family violence, combating serious and organized crime, and targeting prolific offenders will be key components of this strategy, along with specific goals against which to measure our progress. Effective and Efficient Policing Service The upcoming changes to the Band Constable Program next year give us an opportunity to move forward on new approaches to policing for our province and, in particular, for northern Manitoba. To develop other potential approaches, we will work with provincial and federal officials, First Nations and Metis leadership and our communities on a full review of our current structures. Leadership, Respect Members and employees of the RCMP are not only accountable to the communities we serve, we are accountable to one another. Every RCMP employee is expected to show leadership in encouraging mutual respect at work and in the community. Improved Communications We will also continue building on the relationships between the Aboriginal communities we serve and the RCMP by improving the way we communicate. We have a number of initiatives already in place that are working well, such as our RCMP community liaison officers, Community Consultative Committees, Community Justice Groups, regular meetings with Chiefs and Councils, and the RCMP "D" Division Aboriginal Advisory Committee. I also recognize the importance of getting information out quickly to a wide audience. Our website, Twitter and Facebook presence also allow us to not only share important information quickly but also to engage community members in the work we do. We've already seen the results of your participation by sharing links, tweets and posts to help locate missing persons, track down criminals, or raise awareness about our youth programs, safety tips or career opportunities. Each of these social media tools also provides another way for us to hear from you, the people we serve, and to further encourage respectful dialogue between the police and communities. Assistant Commissioner Kevin Brosseau Commanding Officer RCMP "D" Division Findoutmoreatwww.echartmanitoba.ca or by calling our toll free number 1-855-203-4528 Having key information available when and where it's needed helps you and your health-care provider make informed and timely decisions about your care. EChart is a secure, electronic system that connects authorized health-care providers with a summary of your health information such as drug prescriptions that have previously been filled, immunization histories and results from participating labs. EChart will help to: • Improve the quality and timeliness of your care • Provide secure access to your key health-care information • Connect information from multiple electronic systems • Reduce duplication and unnecessary tests EChart Manitoba is designed to protect your privacy and keep your information safe. You can also place a Disclosure Directive on your eChart Manitoba record that will, except in certain circumstances, hide your personal health information in eChart from health-care providers. Contact us for more information about Disclosure Directives, to request a copy of your personal health information in eChart or to see who has viewed your eChart record. Information is the best medicine is the best medicine current • secure • convenient eeded helps you and your Connecting your health-care providers to your key health information GOODCREDITBADCREDIT NO CREDIT WECANHELP! DON'TLETCREDITGETINTHEWAY OFYOURNEWTRUCKORSUV Jack Eshelman TOLL FREE 1-866-999-2499 CanadianAboriginalAutoSales ED ED ED EDIT IT IT ITGET ET ET ETINTH TH YOU OU OU OURNE NE NE NEWTR TR TR TRUC UC UC UCKOR OR OR ORSUV UV UV CanadianAb 303SelkirkAvenue•Winnipeg,MB Phone: (204) 943-9111 • Fax: (204) 942-3698 Grand Rapids phone: (204) 639-2501 Contact us for all YourBusiness Finance needs