Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - December 23, 2007, Winnipeg, Manitoba Top news Winnipeg free 23, 2007 Winnipeg repress. Com a 3 by Fred Brick this year we thought we were too exhausted to have a boxing Day Sale. The Rush to get the number of orders slated for Christmas delivery is quite if not completely exhausting. However our two new staff members Maureen and do who came to us after Wilsonis furniture closed and my daughter Marsha Are super and have made it easier for us to thank our customers with a real old fashioned boxing Day Sale. Weave had a very Busy year but it seems so did our person in charge of Clearing out our discontinued but excellent Quality Stock. He was Busy at the gym biking Kite flying and gardening As Well. As a result our Stock of merchandise that must be cleared out a snot further the asian invasion caught a lot of top Quality furniture manufacturers who thought they were almost immune to overseas shipments by Surprise. The eyed already cleared out their discontinued items but now had to do the same with their current Stock it was quite a Bonanza for those of us who merchandise top Quality lines and we purchased some exquisite numbers at super prices waiting for our fabulous Winter Sale in mid january a snot Good As walking Over furniture in the aisles is uncomfortable. Anyone who has attended one of our sales knows that we really know How to Cut prices though Many boxing Day sales come before Christmas and some even during summer ours is Gonna be a genuine boxing Day Sal held right after Christmas and its Gonna be a Lulu a lot of our exciting Sale items Are one of a kind and priced to sell on a first come basis so please shop Early All sales will be final. Our hours for boxing Day will be from 9 00 am to 4 00 pm. Parking while shopping at bricks will be available in the lot beside us. While my dog Roxy will not be on hand she says we need a new sofa for our study and maybe a new lamp table As Well. You betcha i told her and what about an area Rug and some lamps she left the room in a Huff. Stanley Hancock & Moore Hickory White email bricks its. Net web site wow. Bricksin furniture. Com Fred Brick owns bricks Fine furniture Drexel heritage Gibbard Barrymore Durham 111 Lombard ave. 957 1211 bricks boxing Day Bonanza wow. Bricksin furniture. Com there is no association Between bricks furniture & the Brick warehouse this boxing Day Sale is Gonna be a Lulu we need your help to serve hot meals or provide other essential services to hungry homeless hurting people in Winnipeg Gas inner City this Christmas season. For just $ 2.58, you can provide a hot meal or the Safe shelter and spiritual help that can be the Start of a new life. Please help us feed and care for hungry homeless hurting people by mailing your gift today.  $ 12.90 helps 5 people  $ 98.04 helps 38 people  $ 23.22 helps 9 people  $ 196.08 helps 76 people  to help As Many people As possible please charge my    please clip and Send with your gift today costs Are average and include the expense of preparing and providing meals. A receipt for income tax purposes will be sent to you. Siloam Mission is a registered Canadian Charity # 11915 0043 rr0001. Celebrating 20 years of service in Winnipeg Gas inner City card no. Signature donate online at wow. Siloam. Ca or Call 204 956 4344 or toll free at 1 866 648 Hope 4673. Name address City pc phone e mail Apt. @ expiry Date Complete Christmas dinner 2.58 please make your Cheque payable to Siloam Mission Street dept. 00000 wow. Siloam. Ca 300 Princess Street dept. 69593 Winnipeg my r3b 1m3 Siloam. Ca correction for our 4 Days left a flyer effective dec. 21 24, 2007 pm. 8 save $ 30 Home dual alarm clock radio Reg. $ 129.99 Sale $ 99.99. Please note Home clock radio is Reg. $ 119.99 on Sale at $ 89.99. Pm. 8 save 75% All Reg. Priced screwdrivers & pliers sets and open Stock pieces. Please note offer shoud state 50 75% off. Pm. 10 All furniture & sleep sets on Sale. The and should state almost All furniture & sleep sets on Sale. For our every wish comes with a huge flyer effective dec. 10 16, 2007 pm. 38 $ 129.99 craftsman 16v Lithium Ion Drill kit with two 1 hour batteries. Please note craftsman Drill kit includes Only one 1 hour Battery. We sincerely regret any inconvenience this May have caused our customers. By Bill Redekop t o Robin Grant its not stressed out frenzied last minute shopping before Christmas. To her its a Competition. Come again it gets competitive. It gets exciting. There Are More people around. You Only have so much time to do your shopping said Grant 20, from the Polo Park shopping Centre late saturday afternoon. I like last minute shopping. Tens of thousands of Manitoban might or might not agree with her that racing against the clock Sharpens ones shopping skills. But they were out in full Force saturday just like Grant to do the last of the last buying before the big Day. I already spent $ 250, said a woman named Nelly. And she was Only Hal finished. She was squeezing All her Christmas shopping into saturday. But Nelly had a medical excuse. Ive been going through depression and a vent been Able to get myself out of the House. Now i have to do it today. I have no Choice she said breaking into a Broad self effacing smile. Sheds usually ready for Christmas by now but it a snot been that hard shopping so late she said holding two big translucent red shopping bags the plastic straining from boxes inside so that they almost dragged on the floor. To the untrained Eye the buying seemed Busy bordering on madness inside the huge St. James mall. But experienced retailers like Nicole Hutton we rent impressed. This is my third Christmas working in the mall and this is supposed to be the busiest shopping Day of the year and it Isnit said Hutton who runs the sunglass hut Kiosk. Hutton spoke with other retailers who were finding the very same thing. It was insanity Friday. But no ones that Busy today. I think the Snow has kept people away she said. About 10 centimetres of Snow fell on Winnipeg on Friday night and saturday morning with More of the White stuff falling later in the Day. Many of the parking lots still Hadnot been cleared making for some Tough manoeuvring for motorists. Hutton also made this Cool retailing observation few people were walking around loaded Down with parcels which was True. There Are lots of wanderers a she said wanderers being a class of shopper in retail jargon. You see lots of people with no bags. Two surveys say Canadian retailers attempts to offset the Impact of the High loonie and draw Consumers Back from the u. S. Seem to be paying off this Holiday season. Many retailers from Wal Mart Canada Zellers and Sears Canada to shoppers drug Mart and Rexall have Cut prices on selected goods while others Are hoping to get Price Breaks from their wholesalers when contracts Are renegotiated at the beginning of 2008. The surveys by Scotia Bank and visa Canada also say spending will be up this Holiday season. The Scotia Bank Survey found canadians planned to spend an average of $ 907 this year up from the $ 822 last year. Winnipeg shopper Laura Prince can vouch for that. She had to sit Down and rest from All the Power shopping she did saturday. Prince drove in from Sandy Bay first nation North of Portage la Prairie and about a two hour drive from Winnipeg with her mom daughter sister and Niece. On saturday Prince was buying for her seven kids and seven Gran kids. Shed spent $ 500 to $ 600 at Polo Park and still had another Stop to make. She expects to spend from $ 3,000 to $ 4,000 in total this Christmas on her family up considerably from a year ago. Purchases of kids video game equipment add up quickly she said. The stores like to see us coming Prince said. Crowds May not have matched previous saturdays before Christmas but there were still plenty of lineups. Brother and sister Greg and May Cruz were 20th in line at one clothing store. They were patient but getting hot said May. Meanwhile the smiles on the faces of Annabelle Smith and Vern Mcmahon and Mcmahon is boys Seth and Ethan could Only mean one thing. They were finished and headed for the exit. Happiness is having completed your Christmas shopping. Smith said she spent at least $ 1,500 on Christmas this year and Mcmahon spent Over $ 1,000. One Parent has four children from a previous marriage and the other has three children. So its like the Brady Bunch Smith said. Stores Are open from noon to 6 p. M. Today in accordance with sunday shopping Laws. Polo Park and most retail outlets Are open from 9 30 a. M. To 5 p. M. On Christmas eve Day. Bill. Redekop free press. My. Ca Christmas shopping a fun sport at least one last minute buyer enjoys the Holiday season Rush the stores like to see us coming Laura Prince by Jason Bell thousands of Western canadians mistakenly received a Christmas Bonus from the Federal government Over the last few weeks and the Grinch wants it Back. About 32,000 people receiving employment insurance benefits got Back to Back payments Courtesy of a technical problem at the e. I. Computer Centre in Winnipeg. Some of the cheques and direct Deposit payments were for As much As $ 804. The government wants its Money returned three weeks into the new year just about the time those hefty Christmas shopping Bills begin arriving. Some people might not have even noticed they were overpaid then spent the Money before Christmas and now have to pay it Back along with their other Bills said one Winnipeg woman receiving e. I. Benefits who did not want her name used. Thatus a pretty big glitch. Clients in Manitoba Saskatchewan Alberta British Columbia and the Yukon either had a pair of cheques sent to them within just a few Days or had two payments directly deposited into their Bank accounts. These Are people either getting maternity and parental benefits or regular e. I. Benefits while they study As an apprentice. The Winnipeg woman on maternity leave since Early this year said she received a Cheque for $ 804 for a two week period and then just a few Days later plucked another Cheque from the Mailbox for the same amount. She said at the time the overpayment did not Register with her however her husband figured the second Cheque must have been a government Blunder. Hers very meticulous about our banking. He knew there was a problem she said. We deposited the cheques but he said he was sure someone would eventually figure it out and wed have to give the Money Back. And thatus precisely what has happened. Service Canada officials have confirmed the overpayment adding the Federal department has offered an apology in a letter dated dec. 13 to clients for any inconvenience this May have caused you. It said the technical problem was corrected to ensure the situation happen again and it mentioned another letter would be on the Way to explain How the Money could be repaid. Information provided from service Canada indicated clients have a three week Grace period after the holidays before the department would begin collecting. Service Canada said it would be sensitive in working with clients to assist them in repaying this Money in a reasonable Tim Frame. The Winnipeg woman figures the entire hassle will Cost Canadian taxpayers big time. What bothers me the most is that they ave printed and sent out these extra cheques so thatus All this extra paper and postage wasted she said. Then they Send us the first letter and Tell us another letter is coming More waste. You wonder if they have to hire someone to do the work to get the Money Back. How Many thousands is this going to Cost us. Jason. Bell free press. My. Ca feds recall Bonus e. I. Cheques embarrassed Agency blames computer for extra payment Joe Bryksa / Winnipeg free press it does not get much whiter Adam Biatecki front and Vimy Kennedy Clear the sidewalk on Selkirk Avenue saturday morning with their trusty equipment. Winnipeg was hit with Over 10 centimetres of Snow the last few Days but no major new accumulations Are expected soon. A Light dusting of the White stuff is forecast for today with a mostly Clear Christmas eve and Clouds with Light Snow on Christmas. The Winnipeg free press is read by 38% of Winnipeg adults every sunday. 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