Navigate your way to the Dryden’s Community Matters Questionnaire by clicking here.

EDITORIAL: Time to take ownership?

At the risk of flogging the same dead horse week-in, week-out in this space, there is something very important that I’d like to ask of each of you.

It is my hope that you made it out to Community Matters’ evening forum, Feb. 2. It was a chance to talk about the future of Dryden, offer ideas and suggestions and try to come to some consensus on what it is that we all want this community to be.

It’s something that just about everyone I know has an opinion on.

Which makes it strange indeed to hear that Community Matters was having a bit of a hard time coming up with responses from the community in their recent online survey.

If you couldn’t make it to the forum, it is my hope that you’ll make your way to www.thedrydenobserver.ca where we have posted a link to the Community Matters online survey.

We’d gladly print the web address here, but it’s a long string of gobbledygook that’s much easier clicked on than typed into a browser – perhaps one reason why fewer have navigated their way to it than was hoped. If you aren’t on someone’s e-mail list, or if e-mail doesn’t play a role in your life, this may the first you’ve heard of it.

Aside from polling the community, Community Matters is trying to generate a volume of responses to justify its own existence and make the case for an extension of their mandate to those tending the federal purse strings.

I believe they have until the end of the month.

Let’s face it, it’s pretty hard to get anything meaningful accomplished in the span of 12 months, particularly from the depths of an economic recession. To focus one’s mind each day to the puzzle of Dryden’s future takes a special kind of person.

As a think-tank of sorts, I’ve found the agency to be a very positive force in showing Dryden where it stands with itself and asking each of us to consider the puzzle we’re faced with.

In my experience, the business of ‘public consultation’ is messy and demoralizing. Nine times out of ten, it’s an insincere legal formality for a decision that’s already been made. It’s taken a long time and a lot of meetings to arrive at my particular lack of faith in such processes.

But I don’t extend that belief to this exercise, not after seeing Community Matters chair Roger Valley pound the pavement last week plastering the town with posters asking us to share in their mission.

I may have little to offer, but that won’t stop me from attending and shouldering a bit of this burden, these heavy questions that Community Matters have been attending to over the past year.

Chris Marchand

Leaders from the Kenora District municipalities will converge in Ear Falls this week, working to identify common issues to pass up to higher levels of political process.

Dryden city councillor Gary Case says he expects to hear a good deal of budget talk this week as he expects many neighbouring municipalities are finding themselves in a similar situation to Dryden.

With government stimulus spending presenting rare opportunities for municipalities to spend more on capital projects, Case says the city’s one-third share of those costs has resulted in budget difficulties in a time when residential and commercial rate-payers are bearing the brunt. Pursuing a more advantageous funding formula from both levels of government is one possible course of action.

“Right now our budget is not good,” said Case. “Budget-wise, I think everyone is hurting. It’s a struggle. We can find out what everyone else is doing and we may have some ideas of our own that we can add to the discussion.”

Case says a lack of Connecting Link funding, needed to rehabilitate the Duke St. Overpass, is an issue that is sure to come to the fore. Connecting Link funds allow municipalities to repair roads and bridges on highway corridors while government bears 90 per cent of the costs.

“They haven’t released any money in that for two years now,” said Case. “Consequently, we’re way behind in maintaining our Connecting Links. These are some of the difficulties that are brought up at KDMA, get passed on to Northern Ontario Municipal Association (NOMA) and end up at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) to make their way to the Ministers in the government.”

Chris Marchand

Not long after billions of dollars in tax loopholes for U.S. forest producers lapsed in December of 2009, competing Canadian mills have yet another U.S. subsidy to contend with.

Thunder Bay Rainy River MP and Forestry Critic John Rafferty is calling on the Canadian government to pressure the Obama administration to negotiate the end of the U.S. Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), which is estimated to provide subsidies of $3-10 billion to U.S. mills, or match those subsidies to Canadian mills

It was estimated that a now lapsed alternative fuel tax credit, involving the pulp byproduct black liquor, saved the U.S. forest industry up to $6 billion in 2009. In Canada, the federal government responded with a nationwide Green Energy Transformation Program aimed at making mills more energy efficient and self-sufficient.

“When they did act on black liquor, it was too little too late,” said Rafferty. “We’re giving the government a heads-up on this newest subsidy, which is as big as black liquor. This is cash to U.S. forest companies, it’s not even a tax credit where you have to make a profit to get a break on your taxes. It’s going to put us at a disadvantage. We either have to close them, or match them.”

Locally, the previous U.S. black liquor subsidies have not had any direct affect on Domtar’s Dryden pulp mill operations. In fact the company reported that its many U.S.-based mills had reaped a $137 million windfall in tax credits by September of 2009.

Kenora MP Greg Rickford says that the government is aware of the threat to the Canadian forest sector posed by the U.S. programs. He says recent efforts to move mills closer to becoming energy self-sufficient is a step towards a longer term solution to the problems plaguing the industry.

“It was embraced by industry and in fact it was embraced by the member from Thunder Bay/Rainy River in front of the minister,” said Rickford. “Unfortunately, once she left the room, he proceeded to criticize it for reasons we don’t understand.”

In terms of the BCAP program, Rickford says Canada’s concerns have been formally raised with U.S. trade representatives and various departments.

“We’ve also had some discussions with provincial counterparts and we’re assessing our options around international implications with the European Union, Chile, Brazil and Australia,” said Rickford. “I think we need a bit of time to structure a Canadian-made policy in accordance to that.”

- Chris Marchand

Canada’s Country Gentleman Tommy Hunter entertained an auditorium full of faithful fans, Jan. 27, at The Centre. The beloved host of the longest running musical TV program (27 years) in history, The Tommy Hunter Show, proved there is plenty of appetite for old-time country music in Dryden.    Photo by Chris Marchand

Alma Miller was born in Germany – with an adventurous spirit.  She recalled many happy childhood times with her brothers.  She also recalled much of her mother’s training and her grandfather’s strong faith.
In time to come, her adventurous spirit took her to Montreal, Canada, where she worked as a maid for a well-to-do family.  It was required of her to wear a uniform (black dress, white apron, shoes and cap).  She served well and learned to cook fancy meals.
In 1960, Alma and Ewald (Ed) were married and lived near his place of business (sheet metal), on Queen Street in Dryden, Ontario.  Some will recall how she loved and befriended children.  Their precious daughter, Gisela was born in 1961 and soon they moved to the home they had built on Richan Road.  It took many long days of hard work to get their home and property to where they wanted it.   The three of them enjoyed this simple and quiet country life.  However, in 1978, tragedy struck when Gisela died suddenly in an automobile accident at the age of 17.  It was so hard for them to go on with life.
They continued on at their home and in 1992 Ewald became ill and died at the age of 73.  A few years later, Alma moved to Patricia Gardens.  She had various interests – NHL hockey games, stamp and coin collections and last but not least, her love of reading.  Now she had time to read and the library right close at hand.  She will be remembered for the large stacks of books she got from the library each week.  (A young friend had commented that if there is a library in Heaven, perhaps she will be the librarian.)
Alma loved life at Patricia Gardens and often commented on how the tenants watched out for each other.  She always appreciated and waited for calls from her sister-in-law in Germany.
Alma is survived by her sister-in-law, Elvira Kallis, and her nephews, Gerhardt and Peter Kallis of Stuttgart, Germany.  Several great-nephews, great-nieces and cousins also survive.
She will be laid to rest with her husband and daughter in the Dryden cemetery.  (There will be no funeral service at her request.)
At this time, appreciation goes to Dr. Dahmer, Barb Lindquist at CCAC, the staff at Dryden Regional Hospital, the staff at Patricia Gardens and the friends who spent the last hours with Alma, for their care.  She loved all of you.
Funeral arrangements entrusted to Stevens Funeral Homes P.O. Box 412, Dryden, ON P8N 2Z1.

Granville (Grant) Howard Price - Aug. 31, 1928-Jan.16, 2010

Granville (Grant) Howard Price passed away peacefully in Dryden on January 16th with his family surrounding him with love at the age of 81 years.
Grant was born in Rabbit Lake, Sask. on August 31, 1928 to Gladys and Hiram Price.  He was a brother to Frank, Delbert, Edith, Ruby, Lloyd, Ken and Hiram.
He married Marjorie Cronley on October 7, 1958 in Red Lake.  They later moved onto Airport Road in Dryden and a family was started, Walter, Garnet, Bernice, Edward and Lawrence.  Grant was employed by the Township of Barclay at the Barclay Waste Site retiring at the age of 62. He took great pride in his work probably keeping the cleanest waste site in Canada.  He received many letters of recognition from the Ministry of Environment to this fact.
Grant’s greatest joys were found in gardening and his grandchildren.  His gardens were simply amazing; he tended to them like his children, with love and care. He could grow anything, from strawberries to pumpkins: when he put his mind to it they grew.  He had many unknown talents from woodworking to playing the fiddle. He loved to ride his 4 wheeler even though it never left the yard, he liked to camp in his motorhome even if it was just in his son’s yard.  He loved watching the Toronto Maple Leafs and even when he said they never win he never gave up on his team.  He loved to listen to his son Edward sing in his band Streamline, taking great pride in son’s talent.
Grant is survived by his beloved wife Marj who never left his side during his illness; his children, Walter Price in Dryden, Garnet Price (Darla) in Holbein, Sask., Bernice Simmons (William) in Thunder Bay, Edward (Michelle) and Lawrence (Crystal Arnold), in Dryden;  his grandchildren, Shane, Sheena, Chad, Bradley, Shawna, Amy, Cassie, Conner and baby Cohen and his great-grandson Zackary Price.  He is also survived by his sister Ruby Rostek and leaves behind many cousins, nephews, nieces and friends.
Grant was predeceased by his parents Gladys and Hiram, his brothers Ken, Lloyd, Frank, Hiram, Delbert and sister Edith.
A funeral service to celebrate the life of Grant Price was held on Wednesday, January 20th at 10:00 a.m. in the Moffat Chapel of Stevens Funeral Homes with Ora Semeniuk officiating. Interment followed in the Dryden Cemetery.
Visitation took place Tuesday from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the Moffat Chapel of Stevens Funeral Homes.
If friends desire, donations may be made to the Second Chance Pet Network or DRHC Oncology Unit through the Stevens Funeral Homes, P.O. Box 412, Dryden, ON P8N 2Z1.
Condolences may be
e-mailed to sympathy
card@shaw.ca subject: Price