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.
Jonathon Naylor Editor Town council hopes to give Creighton-ites a final resting place by summer after approving the purchase of a columbarium. Just over seven feet wide and just as tall, the unit will feature 60 spots _ or 'niches' _ to permanently store the ashes of departed residents. 'For years and years, people have been wanting a cemetery,' said Mayor Bruce Fidler. 'People have spent their whole life in Creighton and they want to finish up there. But it's not feasible for a cemetery and this is where the direction is heading, is towards columbariums. More people are getting cremated these days and this is our best option.' Engraved names The columbarium along with an adjacent 'Memory Wall' _ on which names will be engraved in cases where the deceased has been buried elsewhere or not cremated _ will be installed at the green space at the corner of Elander Avenue and Nejedly Street. Fidler hopes to see development begin this spring with both the columbarium and wall ready for use by the summer. The town will spend $45,256 on the columbarium and another $31,277 on the wall, for a total tab of $76,533. Fidler said the town expects to recoup its costs as niches in the columbarium and spots on the wall are sold to families. There will be some additional costs, however, as the town plans to install benches and commence landscaping and beautification work. The town will order both the columbarium and the wall from Remco Memorials Ltd., a reputable company with five offices across Saskatchewan. Fidler said support for the project, first suggested to council a year ago, has widespread community support. 'People are really happy,' he said. Conversation Creighton resident Marty Dedecker got this conversation started in January 2011 when he wrote council to ask them to consider developing such a site. In his letter, Dedecker said Creighton does 'not have a close suitable location for a cemetery,' so he suggested 'a suitable building to house the ashes of our deceased citizens.' Formal approval of the project was granted in November.
