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.
Certainly money is an issue," Coun. Cal Huntley said at last week's city council meeting. "We have a very challenging budget this year and with the infrastructure improvements that are being made, as well as our commitment to a water treatment plant, we're going to be really strapped as a community to, without some significant changes being made, meet all the requirements." Coun. Huntley has made this point a few times this year. And it's valid. Without "significant changes" Ð presumably meaning tax hikes, spending cuts or an intermingling of the two Ð City Hall's coffers are largely tied up for the foreseeable future. "All the requirements," or what some perceive as requirements, probably cannot be met. Nevertheless, it is essential that council not get stuck in a rut of closing their minds to new ideas simply because bringing them to fruition would be challenging. The history of this city is full of conquered obstacles. Our very existence as a mining town of 80-plus years speaks to that better than anything else. With this in mind, council cannot let the latest opportunity for a much-needed animal shelter slip by the wayside. After years of dashed hopes and near-misses, the Flin Flon, Creighton and Area SPCA is ready, willing and able to erect a shelter for homeless cats and dogs at the junction of the Cliff Lake Road and Perimetre Highway, beside the old museum site. The group describes the stray animal problem as "exploding," and no one would know better than they. Flin Flon is blessed to have a non-profit prepared to provide a service that will benefit the community as a whole. Even those who would just as soon euthanize all the strays can appreciate the work the SPCA does to promote spaying, neutering and responsible pet ownership, which in turn means fewer nuisance animals on our streets. The SPCA's last public push for shelter land came two years ago. A divided council narrowly defeated a motion to provide property near McKeen Avenue, even though, according to several SPCA members, one of the dissenting councillors had privately pledged to support the motion. At the time of the defeat, council offered an alternative piece of land on Timber Lane that the SPCA had plainly said was unbefitting. A lot along the Channing Road was later discussed, but it was not going to work, either. Finally, the SPCA has a site that appears to meet its needs and, unlike the McKeen site, is far enough from homes that anxiety from residential areas should not arise. It has not been made clear whether the SPCA or the city is expected to cover the cost of running water lines to the Cliff Lake/Perimetre site. If it comes down to a scenario where the city must pay to make the project transpire, then, as long as the price tag is not astronomical, council has an obligation to proceed. Instead of focusing so heavily on infrastructure and roads (including this newspaper's picks for the 10 worst roads), an important but not all-consuming aspect of city operations, council must make budgetary leeway for other priorities. The long-needed animal shelter ought to be among those at the top of the list. Local Angle runs Fridays.
