Spring seeding has finally begun! It is good to see the farming process begin anew. Some late rainfall has delayed seeding, but a few are reporting having some acres planted. In the village we will soon hear the sounds of roto-tiller mania! There is also at least one report of someone having potatoes planted. All in all, it makes us all happier to be able to get outside and to get the jobs done.
May 3 saw many guest faces in our village. The North West Museum spring meeting was held in the Rabbit Lake Seniors' Centre and was hosted by the Rabbit Lake and District Museum Committee.
The guests attending were from Glaslyn, Spiritwood, Meadow Lake, Loon Lake, St. Walburg, Wilkie, Maidstone, Bresaylor and Rabbit Lake.
As the members registered, they received a gift bag and at dinner time they were served stew and biscuits. For desert there was home made ice cream made by the WhistleStop Coffee Shop.
In the afternoon there was entertainment by "Loretta Lynn" and " Minnie Pearl," who in real life are Muriel Kotelko and Sheila Bacheldor .
Two speakers, Paul Grainger who spoke about museum grants, and Cameron Hart, who spoke on archival collecting, rounded out the program.
The hall was decorated with displays of local artifacts and memorabilia. The mayor of Rabbit Lake, Don Peters, welcomed all the guests to the community and Gordon Sherman, chair of the Rabbit Lake Museum Committee brought greetings from the local museum group.
There are 16 museums in the North West Museum Association. Thank you to volunteers and businesses who helped prepare the meeting and the lunch and to those who donated to the gift bags and door prizes.
May 5 was the date for the second annual Village of Rabbit Lake ratepayers meeting. Mayor Don Peters introduced the councillors, Janette Klaassen and Dave Plummer, the village administrator Brenda Aumack, village works man Bob Lamb and guest speaker Sgt. D. Harrison from the Spiritwood detachment of the RCMP.
Aumack presented an overview of the year's budget and highlighted that the cost of utilities was a very large part of the whole budget. In particular the stress on last June's exceptional amount of water causes a great deal of pressure on an aging infrastructure.
She indicated salaries were also a factor in the budget, but that that amount will decrease this year. There has been some increased funding from the government and that is welcome news.
Klaassen spoke about a book by Griffin and Klammer that many have read, that outlines the factors that either foster growth in a community or if left unattended, lead to its demise. She said, as a community, we have met some of the goals but we have a ways to go.
Plummer spoke on the feasibility of a fire brigade in the village and said that fire practices would be held this month. If you are interested, let the village office know.
Peters spoke about the benefits attached to regionalization and partnering it regard to infrastructure upgrades and to the sewer lagoon in particular.
Two dates were set for community activities. The McLeod Park committee will meet on May 15 and the annual village cleanup day will be May 28.
Peters also led the group through a feedback survey that is designed to give direction to the council in several areas. Please pick up a survey at the office.
The evening concluded with a presentation by Sgt. Harrison, who spoke about the priorities the Spiritwood Detachment has for communities in the area. He outlined his goals as: traffic enforcement, drug and alcohol enforcement and dealing with other offenses such as break and enter. He gave all a heads up that traffic enforcement blitzes will be happening for a two-month period in the spring and again in the fall.
The evening ended with coffee and cake compliments of the museum committee.
We are very pleased to say that Marlene Hildebrand and Marie Balaszi are recovering well from recent surgeries. We look forward to seeing them home soon. Get well wishes go out to Sam Konopelski, who is in a Saskatoon hospital. I am sure he would far rather be involved in seeding than patiently waiting to get better. Our thoughts are with Sam.
