Visionaries keep working towards a brighter RR Future

By Ken Johnston
Editor

Last Wednesday nine members of the various Rainy River Vision 20/20 sub-committees met to update each other and the public on where the town’s plans for its future are going.
Town councillor and chair of the 20/20 committee, Gord Armstrong, started things off with a review of its goals. “We set out a few years ago to try and get everyone pulling in the same direction,” he explained. They also want to “leave no stone unturned, insure a good financial future for our community, make sure the town is a well oiled machine and that every sector is doing its part.”
There are four subcommittees at work. They are:
•Beautification
•Tourism and Promotion
•Economic Development
•Sports, Leisure and Healthy Living
Jeanette Armstrong reported on the Beautification Committee’s progress. They have had a successful memorial hanging basket program the past few years. That involves local people purchasing a hanging basket in memory of a loved one. “We have about 40 baskets on tap for this summer already!” said Armstrong.
They also have a memorial tree program where people can purchase a tree the same as the baskets. “We have six to eight memorial trees donated.”
They have also been busy planting flowers around town the past few summers and are having their annual park clean-up next Tuesday afternoon.
In the off season they also put Christmas lights up around town and at the entrances of town.
Gill Stamler reported on the Tourism committee’s efforts. “We produced a new town brochure that was such a success we had to order 2,000 more!”
They hosted a town bus tour last summer that was successful. “If more were done a company could be set up to host bus tours.”
A tourism study is currently underway and this Saturday the group will be hosting a Birding Symposium in Rainy River.
They also secured the Dime Store Fisherman t.v. show for this fall. “We hope to get international exposure from it!”
An intern will soon be hired to promote tourism locally and abroad.
Other items they are working on is the update to the town history book and commemoration of the 100th anniv. of the Great Fire of 1910.
Rainy River Economic Development Officer Andrew Hartnell reported on his committee’s efforts. “We have lots of potential here. We have looked at peat plants but that has been stalled because of government delays.”
They have had near successes in selling the former Globeco building. “We were close a few times and once were going to study its potential uses when we had a buyer come forward and put the study on hold,” explained Hartnell. As for its current status, rumours have it sold again. “It is unofficially sold,” said Hartnell.
The committee has also been looking at uses for a tract of land in the community that is up for private sale. “We should have a plan in place for next week,” said Hartnell.

Committee Chair Gord Armstrong said, “We are looking at ways we can attract people and how to get those already passing through to stop.”
Megan Shanks reported that the Sports/Leisure Committee has introduced many new activities, helping to make Rainy River a healthy place to live.
They include reintroduction of the youth t-ball and slow-pitch leagues. Others are the healthy food box program, Halloween activities, snow-shoe rentals, badminton programs, ski-trips, family day fun, recreation youth hockey, day camps in the summer and much, much more.
Future activities they are hoping to get going are an ice fishing derby, pond hockey and roller skating.

They are also very pleased with the community’s interest in a multi-use trails project. They are already working on mapping the trails.
They also highlighted the Community Garden and its warm reception by the town. It has doubled in size since its inception last year.
After all the reports were done Gord Armstrong asked for people to talk about hinderances to the 20/20 process. One of the main ones was a need to better work together as committees. All agreed to try to do that.

Another was negativity in the community. But Heidi Ivall countered that there is also a lot of positivity in Rainy River as is evident with the trails and garden projects.
Jack Elliott said that in his eyes a lot has been accomplished. But noted that a big black hole still exists in the business community. “One thing we really need to do is get someone to own and operate that motel (Roadrunner). It being empty is a real problem. Anything anyone can do to get it open would be helpful.”

Armstrong concluded by saying, “It took a long time for Rainy River to get into this dire situation and it will take a while to get out of it. We take an inch (back) this year and will take more next year.”