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.
It may look like a sand lot at Riverside Park, but that 'sand lot' will soon be turned into a sand volleyball court. In an effort to give the community a new recreational opportunity, the re-soiling project is creating a playing surface for people to volley a ball back and forth. Riverside Park is one of 10 parks in the community being re-soiled and sodded by the provincial government due to high levels of smelter-borne metals in the ground. Assistant Deputy Conservation Minister Serge Scrafield says the parks are shaping up nicely. Though Riverside is the only park with a volleyball court being put in, other parks are being spruced up and made safer for children to play. As of now, says Scrafield, two parks have been completed through phase one Ð "Upper" Foster Park and North Ave Park. The parks are now complete aside from some grass maintenance. Regarding North Avenue Park, Scrafield says the playground is done, but next they will be working on the adjacent ball diamond as well as the link to Flinty's Trail. Most of the work this year has been that of phase two, which involved the remediation of the Ruth Betts School playground and Steventon Boulevard Park. Grass maintenance also needs to be finished at those two locations. Currently the province, along with the City of Flin Flon, are working on Dominion Park as well as Riverside Park. Also, phase two has begun at Foster Park's running track. But the work doesn't stop there as there are four more parks to have work done. The weather will play the biggest role toward the work on Grandview Park on Grandview Street, Rotary Park, Pop's Park on Tweedsmuir Street and Alder Park on Alder Avenue. If the rain and cold weather set in too soon, work will have to be postponed until next spring or early summer. But Scrafield is hoping that won't happen. "We hope to have Dominion and Riverside done this year and start on the other four... mentioned," he said. "We will do as much as we can with the weather. If it's good, we'll accomplish a fair bit of it." As far as starting work again next year, Scrafield says it depends on the weather and when the ground is thawed out. As well, he says once the ground in Flin Flon is ready, sod still has to be grown Ð which could push the start date back until early summer. The weather pushed back work on Foster Park last year as the laying of sod was delayed. Scrafield says if the weather isn't right, the sod won't take. "If we're confident the work can be done, we'll do as much as we can," he says. Working alongside the city as well as an architect and contractor, Scrafield says the project is going well. "It's good," he says.
