A concert and community celebration will be held Friday for the grand opening of the new communiplex on the Ocean Man First Nation.
The facility houses the reserve’s first convenience store and gas station, along with a gymnasium, library and dance studio.
Ocean Man Chief Gloria Shepherd says a number of job training initiatives will be delivered at the facility:
“I’m on a mission to get my people off welfare. I try to get training — like safety tickets and all kinds of training for the oil fields, for carpentry — for whatever the people need. We built it in time and it will serve a good purpose.”
Shepherd says construction of the $2-million facility started last November, and some classes for children have already begun.