Policing tops agenda at council meeting Monday

Ken Johnston
Editor

Police service was front and center at the monthly meeting of Rainy River town council Monday evening.
Staff Sgt. Hugh Dennis made his second visit of the 2004 year to report to council on policing in the community. Dennis said that last year there were a total of 239 incidents in Rainy River. To date this year there has been 218. He predicts that the community will be slightly busier, incident wise, than last year.
Mayor Glen Armstrong asked Dennis about the possibility of having the local police station staffed with a cleric so that it can be open to the public.
Dennis said, “I can not afford to have $42,000 worth of staff sitting in Rainy River.” Comparably it would cost around $75,000 per year to have a constable to sit in the station and keep it open and even more for a Sgt.
He explained that most detachments get two clerics. The detachment in Fort Frances has three which Dennis said is needed.
The Fort Frances office is the hub for all the O.P.P activity from there to Rainy River . Rainy River and Emo are satellite offices.
However, in Emo the community does staff the building with volunteers. That is a program that Dennis said he would welcome with open arms in Rainy River.
Dennis said that the recent auto accident at the RR Clinic that caused a gas leak has prompted a change in policy. Whenever possible a community information officer will be assigned to a situation immediately so that they can get information to the public.
Dennis added that should the town be in need of such an officer in emergencies that they would be available.
Dennis said that he thought the emergency response time of the officer that was on the scene at the Clinic accident was good. “I believe Const. MacDonald was in Rainy River in about 45 minutes.”
He noted that because Rainy River does not have a contract with the O.P.P. that it does not have a guaranteed number of officers in the community at all times.
He noted that Sgt. Dave Saunders, while posted to Rainy River, is not limited to duties in this community. For instance, Dennis said Saunders recently responded to an accident between Fort Frances and Atikokan.
Rainy River used to have Sgt. Bill Diablo as the Detachment Commander. However, that position does not exist anymore. Now Sgt. Hugh Dennis is the Detachment Commander for the entire area.
Other Business
•Council approved the applications of Ashley Stamler and Sabine Drackert to the Rainy River Volunteer Fire Dept.
•Council gave personnel committee permission to hire a cleric to work when one of its office members goes on maternity leave this Friday. They had interviewed two candidates and both turned down the position.
•Mayor Glen Armstrong reported on a meeting with MNR on allowing commercial operations to put ice fishing huts up over the winter. He noted that MNR said that they can go on the ice now but must be moved daily. He also reported that in 2005-06 new regulations will be put in place by MNR governing ice fishing huts.
•Council passed a motion to participate in the Joint Emergency Preparedness Program at a cost of $8,054.64.
•Council supported a resolution from Sioux Narrows/Nestor Falls petitioning the health unit not to raise its levies above 3% next year.