With 2015 (well, most of it) ahead of us, here are some of my predictions for Flin Flon and area:
• Flin Flon MLA Clarence Pettersen will be invited back to government caucus meetings after his pick for premier, Theresa Oswald, succeeds the wildly unpopular Greg Selinger. He still won’t get a cabin post, however.
• The Flin Flon Community Choir will astonish audiencegoers with Les Misérables, their most amazing performance yet – and that’s saying something, isn’t it?
• Area First Nations will continue to resist the notion of nuclear waste storage near Creighton, raising further questions about how such a project could ever proceed.
• Following the unfortunate closures of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in 2011 and St. Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in 2014, one more Flin Flon church will be forced to close its doors – or come awfully close.
• Attendance at Bomber games will soar as the team rekindles past magic en route to a playoff run that will surprise the heck out of everyone.
• Decent zinc prices and lacklustre copper prices will mean a “good news, bad news” type of year for Hudbay.
• Flin Flon city council will face intense opposition in trying to continue the special services levy, which boosts taxes on low-end homes and drops them on high-end homes. Provincial regulators will nonetheless give the levy their blessing.
• Following last year’s demolition of Willow Park Curling Club and First Baptist Church, the Flin Flon area’s remaining landmarks will remain intact.
• As conditions on overcrowded area reserves deteriorate, Flin Flon’s plight of Aboriginal homelessness will worsen.
• Elected officials in Flin Flon, Creighton and Denare Beach will be criticized loudly and publicly for something completely frivolous.
• With unreal dedication and loyal fans, the Creighton Kodiaks football team will continue to dominate in their second season, proving last year was no fluke.
• The City of Flin Flon will officially take over operations of public transit. The new service will reduce convenience on the one hand but bolster efficiency on the other.
• Plans to erect a cairn in memory of trapper David Collins, often credited as the true discoverer of the Flin Flon ore body, will materialize. The honour will be long overdue.
• There will be a fresh spate of rumours about the fate of the old Extra Foods building, the most colourful of which will somehow involve unicorns. The building will continue to sit empty.
Whatever happens this year, may events favour you and yours in 2015.
Local Angle runs Fridays.
