The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Question: Would it not be unjust of council to allow the proposed animal shelter to be located within a mile of any residential area, especially considering the McKeen-South Hudson revolt of 2007? Mayor Therien: I understand your concern, but a mile might be a little bit further than I would think necessary. I am not sure which animal shelter you are talking about, as we have a couple of items on the go at this time. The first is a proposal from a person who wishes to open an animal shelter in the Big Island area. Currently your city is in favour of exploring this option. It would, obviously, not be in the boundaries of the City of Flin Flon and would not involve, for the most part, citizens of Flin Flon. However, it may be a concern for some in Big Island and, at that time, we would deal with it in our usual manner. The second animal shelter issue is, of course, the SPCA and their desire for a home. To date, the city continues to explore options for an SPCA and, as of last contact, we may have an agreement on a site that in no way should cause concern, directly, with any resident. One should keep in mind that, as of today, nothing is concrete and, again, we continue to be in contact with the SPCA to attempt to resolve their issue. * * * Question: Why does it seem that so many children of City Hall employees have been/are able to get hired on as summer students? Is there any sort of independent oversight to make sure no favouritism is shown with our tax money? Mayor Therien: Your question is an interesting one, to say the least. It would appear that we hire a number of summer students who have ties to the city but, having said that, we hire QUITE a number of students for the summer. I have never understood why we should exclude anyone because they have close connections to the city, especially for something like a summer student program. We require lots of summer students, so why should we limit our resource pool and exclude the children of staff members. This does not strike me as fair, either. It should be noted that, like every employee, these summer students are required to prove they can handle the tasks given and must deal with their respective foreman/supervisor in terms of their job performance. From that perspective, I feel we get equitable bang for your buck. * * * Send your questions for Mayor Therien to The Reminder by phone at 687-3454, fax at 687-4473, e-mail at [email protected] or standard delivery at "Ask the Mayor," C/O The Reminder, 14 North Avenue, Flin Flon, MB, R8A 0T2. No names are required. Ask the Mayor runs Mondays.
