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.
Organizers will rethink plans to fly the Stars and Stripes at the anticipated Peace Park after two area residents protested the idea yesterday. Greg East and Buz Trevor told the chamber of commerce, which is developing the park along with the Flinty Committee, that including the U.S. flag would be exclusionary to other nations. Stressing that it's not about anti-Americanism, the men suggested that the United Nations flag be strung up instead so much of the world could be represented with a single symbol. "If this was a commerce park, then I think there would be a strong argument for having an American flag," said East, referring to the substantial American tourist dollars that flow to the Flin Flon area. But with this being a Peace Park, "I strongly feel the U.N. flag" would be more suitable than flying another country's flag, he said at the chamber meeting, held at the Friendship Centre Restaurant. Trevor said he wants to keep the park limited to Canadian flags rather than "picking out a particular country other than Canada," and agreed that the U.N. flag "is not a bad idea." The chamber recently announced plans to merge its proposed Peace Park with Flinty's Park along Highway 10A, with the intent of erecting 17 flags ? those of the U.S. and Canada, every province and territory, and First Nation and Metis flags. East further suggested the park include a spare pole from which the home flags of visiting exchange students could fly. Chamber past-president Dave Kendall, who sat as president in Doug O'Brien's absence, mentioned recent newspaper letters opposing the inclusion of the American flag, commenting that "obviously, this is a bit of a topic." Chamber vice-president Tom Therien said there is logic behind including the red, white and blue of the U.S. because the area gets "a tremendous amount of dollars" from American tourists. But if it's going to be an issue with the public, he said, it makes sense to instead fly the United Nations flag. "It's a peace park," said Therien. "It's not designed to tick anybody off." Kendall said the chamber would recommend that the appropriate committee consider replacing the U.S. flag with that of the U.N., and that they also contemplate installing a spare pole as East suggested. The committee consists of representatives of the Flinty Committee, which initiated Flinty's Park, and the chamber. Kendall pointed out that no final decisions have been made as to which flags will be included. In another matter, Kendall announced that O'Brien has agreed to let his name stand for a second consecutive term as chamber president. See 'Positions' P.# Con't from P.# Kendall told the members that people are needed to fill other executive positions, most notably president-elect. Karen Thomson was going to serve as president for the 2004-05 year but has since been transferred to Thompson. Anyone interested in belonging to the executive may phone the chamber at 687-4518. The scheduled guest speaker for the meeting, attended by 16 people, was Arnold Grambo of the Hudson Bay Route Association; however, he was unable to attend.
