Introduce yourself to the public.
My name is Shirley Owen. My husband Max and I moved to Creighton in March of 1968. I have three children, seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. I enjoy fishing, camping, volunteering, travelling and spending time with family and friends.
I began volunteering very soon after moving to Creighton and continue to do so today. I am retired after a 30-year career with Creighton School Division and 15 years as manager of the Creighton Community Club. I like to be involved in community affairs and I am very proud to be a home-owner in Creighton.
What is the single biggest challenge facing Creighton and what would you do to address this challenge?
It is very difficult to mention a single biggest challenge facing Creighton, as there are many things that need to be addressed. But having to mention one, I feel the single biggest challenge facing Creighton is sustainability. We must ensure the future of our community, and economic development is probably one of the most important challenges.
We need to ensure employment for our young families to stay here in Creighton. We have a great school, land for housing and although we do not have shopping and medical services, we only have to travel a few kilometres to access these resources. We must continue to keep the level of services we enjoy today. We are able to keep our taxes affordable and yet offer excellent road maintenance, recreation, a recycling program and landfill facilities.
I feel that our council is on the right path to address the challenges to make a positive future for Creighton. If elected, I would work hard to assist council in their work to focus on making Creighton move forward on economic development with our neighbouring communities.
What is your long-term vision for Creighton?
My long-term vision for Creighton is to continue to have what we have now, only more. We need a personal care home for our many seniors that wish to remain in our community to be close to family. I would like to see our homecare expanded to help keep seniors and people with disabilities remain in their own homes.
Creighton’s crime rate makes us a fairly safe place to live, but there is always room for improvement and this is something I would encourage our police to enforce and take a more positive presence in our school.
My vision: continued affordable taxes, health care and infrastructure, more recreation, campground with a pump-out station, beautification in our town and more volunteering, as this is very important to the success of a community and it truly involves the entire family.
What do you believe makes you qualified to sit on council?
My 30-plus years as an administrator in finance help me understand the financial aspects of the town. My years of volunteering and working in recreation have been an asset to be chair for Recreation.
I came on council when several projects were underway. We are now working on projects initiated by the present council. I represent the Town on the Flin Flon ER Steering Committee and the Pahkisimon Nuyeah Library Board.
Being retired allows me the time required to commit to council. My experiences and passion to become involved, and dedication to our community, makes me qualified for the job.
