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.
Canines may be panting with excitement over plans for a long-awaited local dog park. A volunteer committee is seeking donations for an enclosed dog park between the driving range and soccer field at Phantom Lake. 'Our mission is to establish a fenced-in, off leash dog park where well-behaved canine citizens can exercise in a clean, safe environment without endangering or annoying people, property or wildlife,' wrote Crystal Banting of the Creighton Community Dog Park Committee. By way of letter, Banting is asking the City of Flin Flon and the Town of Creighton to each contribute $5,000 toward the $15,000 project. The committee would fundraise the remaining $5,000. 'Our goal is to develop a functional, well-maintained space open to all dog lovers and friends who are willing to uphold the park's rules and restrictions,' wrote Banting in a letter city council reviewed last week. Banting said the park _ 'designed to satisfy the needs of dog owners and non-dog owners alike' _ is a community project in partnership with the Creighton recreation department and volunteers. The proposal has the wholehearted endorsement of Carmen Hiebert, an animal advocate and manager of the Flin Flon, Creighton and Area SPCA shelter. 'I definitely believe there's a great need in our community for a dog park, a place where dogs are welcomed and are safe, and are able to be off-leash in a contained area,' she said. 'I think having a park is a safer, healthier (option) for the animals and it keeps the people in the community happier because there's less messes and less loose dogs running around.' Added Hiebert: 'Every city you go to has off-leash dog parks and we've just got to keep up with the times.' City council had no comment on the funding request, referring it to the committee level for further review. The need for a dog park has in recent years been a hot topic of conversation among the hundreds of canine owners in the Flin Flon area. In 2009, city council chose not to act on a request from concerned resident Judy Doll to develop a fenced dog park near the municipal campground. 'Because there is no suitable area to take a dog off-leash, people often use unsuitable areas around our city to let their dogs run off-leash,' wrote Doll in a letter, citing baseball diamonds, soccer fields, school yards and children's parks as examples. 'This presents problems such as waste left behind (and) off-leash dogs harassing children and others that have the right to be in these places.' Quoting from an animal website, Doll listed several benefits of a dog park, saying it would help keep people physically active and in touch with other dog owners.
