Lots of discussion around Cenotaph Park
May 19, 2022, 12:26 pm
Kevin Weedmark
There was a lot of discussion around Moosomin’s cenotaph at the Moosomin town council meeting Wednesday:
• New benches, picnic tables and waste and recycling receptacles ordered by the town have been installed at the Cenotaph Park
• Council heard that Richard Hogarth has volunteered to maintain the Cenotaph Park.
• The town was invited to participated in a committee to plan an event marking the centennial of the cenotaph in 2024.
Cenotaph improvements
There was discussion at Wednesday’s meeting about improvements at Cenotaph Park and an offer to take care of ongoing maintenance.
Councillor Kyla Fingas spearheaded a project to improve the Cenotaph Park by installing new benches, picnic tables, and trash and recycling receptacles.
Council heard Wednesday that those new items have been installed at the park.
Council was also told that landscaper Richard Hogarth has volunteered his services to take care of the park to take the load off the local Legion branch.
Cenotaph centennial
It was August 31, 1924 that Moosomin’s Cenotaph was unveiled. It had been created by Italian sculptor Sergio Vatteroni. With the 100th anniversary of the cenotaph approaching, the Moosomin Legion wants to plan an event to mark the centennial.
“The Royal Canadian Legion, Branch #81 of Moosomin would like your permission to organize a centenary event of the town of Moosomin Cenotaph in 2024,” Brian Beckett wrote to town council.
“We have had an initial meeting with the Armoury Committee to gauge their interest. As the town is the owner of the cenotaph, you have a seat on the planning committee reserved. We will be approaching the other service organizations in town to gauge their interested in being on the committee.
“Our initial, non-official proposal is to make this a large event.
“Even if council does not have a member on the committee, council will be kept updated on the progress of the planning committee.
“Please advise if you approve of this approach or if the town has plans of their own.”
Council passed a motion to fully support the plan to mark the Cenotaph’s centennial.
“It’s important, and now that it’s going to be looked after by Richard Hogarth, and we’ve got the new furniture, we’re off to a good start,” said Councillor Ron Fisk.
Suggestion for planters
Moosomin town council discussed a suggestion for use of planters at Wednesday’s meeting.
“With food prices where they are currently, and likely rising, I got thinking about how I can help my family and my community,” Kate Chegwin wrote to council.
“I rented a community plot and plan to use it to ‘feed my community.’
“It also got me thinking about the planters on Broadway and around town, maybe those could be planted with food. Flowers are beautiful, but communities need food and I thought this would be a way to achieve that. If this is something that you as town council would consider, I would love to help in any way.”
Councillor Kyla Fingas said that the flowers are already ordered for the planters for this year, and Councillor Murray Gray said the town will donate two plots at the Community Garden for the Food Share’s use.
Thanks from CBA
Council received a letter of thanks from the Community Builders Alliance for the work on the water treatment plant. A $10 million federal-provincial grant was recently announced for the water plant.
“The Community Builders Alliance would like to Thank and Congratulate the Town of Moosomin council and staff for the time and effort you have invested to secure the funding for the new Water Treatment Plant for the town,” CBA wrote.
“We appreciate that decisions on how to spend taxpayers’ dollars are not easy to make. This is a very important investment being made in the future of our community.
“Chapter One of 13 Ways to Kill your Community is titled ‘Forget the Water.’ In that first chapter Griffiths writes ‘water is the foundational resource on which communities build,’ which is so true. Without adequate water supplies, we cannot grow. Thank you for not forgetting the water.”
