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Vol. 130 No. 9 Friday, May 11, 2012 Minnedosa, Manitoba Canada R0J 1E0 90 cents + tax

Ratepayers voice concerns with MREC proposal

By DARRYL HOLYK delegation including Minnedosa ratepayers Herman Klassen, Neil Cameron, and Jim Fossum appeared before Town Council Tuesday evening with some concerns regarding the Minnedosa Regional Events Centre (MREC) proposal. Following the January 17th, 2012 Public Information Meeting the gentlemen, along with Eric Neufeld, who was unable to attend Tuesdays meeting put some of their thoughts, concerns and questions down on paper and wrote to Council in early March. The delegation, with Herman serving as spokesperson, met with council Tuesday night to go over the contents of their letter. The delegation voiced its concerns regarding the $300,000 tax revenue generated from the Husky plant being set aside in an MREC reserve on an annual basis. Taxpayers are being blinded that the taxes from Husky will pay for the debenture ($3.5 million over 25 years) and then some, but council has no assurance these taxes will exist for 25 years, stated the delegations letter. Adding to that, Klassen stated, Th eres no guarantee Husky is going to be here in five years or even two years. All you have to do is review the history of the distillery. We had a distillery; it closed down then finally Mohawk bought it out. Industry goes that way. You cant make the assumption its going to be here for 20 years. People are under the impression that this is going to pay for it, but what if Husky isnt there? Councils response indicated that Husky still pays basic taxes as it did before the plant expansion. The $300,000 is money that was not there before 2009 (plant expansion). When it came on line, the council of the day elected to use it to set up a reserve for a new arena, explained Mayor Ray Orr. Certainly there is an assumption that Husky will continue to operate over a long-term period. Th spent $150 million on a new plant so were asey suming theyre going to be here. The delegation also voiced concerns that although the Mayor continually says taxes will not increase as a result of MREC, there will be a $50 levy put in place to help pay for this project. Just think about that, a levy is a tax, stated Herman. With the garbage levy at least you can say its an essential service. Is this (MREC) really the best priority for the town? Its not an essential service. Th is a is flat tax that benefits the well to do and hammers the poor. That is very unfair taxation.

How does your garden grow?

Photo by Richard Davies

Members of Minnedosas Junior Gardening Club learn the ins and outs of transplanting from Erna Stemmer at Rookhurst Gardens Monday evening.
By RICHARD DAVIES strated to the children how to transplant flowers before allowing them to do it themselves. The members chose from either a marigold or a pansy to plant and both varieties were donated by A & B Dalrymples County Farm Greenhouses. The children discovered that the marigold they were planting is a good flower to put outside to keep skunks away because the scent of a marigold is unpleasant to the animal. Marci Vreeman Bomford of the Blue Garden was also on hand to teach the junior gardeners about the Echinacea. An Echinacea is commonly called a purple cornflower and are part of the daisy family. Marci generously donated an Echinacea to each of the members. The club consists of about 20 children from the ages of 4-17. The junior gardeners will enter the horticultural show in August where the Echinacea from the Blue Garden will be judged along with other entries they will prepare throughout the summer.

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innedosas junior gardening club started off their season earlier this week. Members gathered at Rookhurst Gardens, the home of Erna Stemmer, on Monday evening for an introduction to prepare them on how to get that perfect green thumb. Stemmer demon-

B Dalr ymple &

Country Farm

OPEN HOUSE TOMORROW

Saturday, May 12th, 2012
Join us for Coffee and Donuts and Special Draws!
OPEN 9:30 A.M.- 8:30 P.M. Telephone: 867-3317

GREENHOUSES

Opposite the Dam Minnedosa Beach