Nancy's Notes

Updates On The Pulse Of Pinawa

by Nancy Bremner, CDO And Resident Of Pinawa

Notes On Pinawa CDC

Christmas Town Market, Ice Warning On Pinawa Channel, Strategic Planning Session, Christmas Break...

As noted in the first article on the Front Page of this month's newsletter our third annual Christmas Town Market was a great success with 525 people attending throughout the day.  Thanks must go out to Barrie and Carl for volunteering to put out the signs on the highway even though Barrie was really under the weather and not feeling up to his usual form. Also thanks to EMCA for leaving their 2 Christmas trees by the stage to add that festive touch and of course to Barrie who made the stage look lovely with the curtains.

I'd like to give a note of warning to anyone who usually walks on the channel ice to fish or crosses it on a snow machine.  The water has been fluctuating quite rapidly lately and at one point the water had dropped so much that there were ice shelves hanging over a foot from the main ice sheet.  The water is back up again so I would strongly recommend that nobody ventures onto the ice on the channel until the water flow is at the normal heights.

Pinawa CDC Board and staff worked diligently over the Program Plan and Strategic Goals for 2008.  To begin the evening though we thoroughly enjoyed fantastic pizzas prepared by the Pinawa Motor Inn before we got down to business.  Two new objectives under our marketing goals were: a stronger marketing presence in electronic media which also includes webcams and to focus on job postings to encourage folks to move into town.  We added an additional trade show to focus on the job market potential and to show families the attractiveness of Pinawa's lifestyle.  Two new objectives under the goal of having a diversified and growing business community were; to identify conditions required to grow retail and commercial space and to establish a souvenir shop in the new Pinawa CDC office in the Pinawa Mall. To support major economic development projects the wayside campground will be built this spring and directional signs will be ordered and the Nuclear Options Committee will pursue nuclear power development at the Whiteshell Site.  Under the residential growth strategy a list of mentors for new residents will be developed.

Congratulations to these people who now comprise the Executive of the Pinawa Chamber of Commerce.  Donna Warenko will continue to be the webmaster and to be the main contact through email.

Pinawa Chamber of Commerce Executive

President: Marsha Sheppard

Treasurer: Vince Lopata

Secretary: Rhonda Henschell

PCDC Representative: Donna Warenko

Member at large: Rick Backer

We would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Granite Internet who will officially celebrate 11 years of operation in January 2008. 

Pinawa CDC staff are now working out of the W. B. Lewis Business Centre (the old gym) should anyone care to drop by to buy souvenirs if you missed our booth at the market.  We will be officially closed from December 24th to January 1st.  Pat Sullivan will be back to work on January 2nd  (8:30 to 4:30) while I will be back on January 7th (9:00 to 5:00).   We are sorry you can't reach us by phone but please continue to email us if you have questions or need any brochures or maps - they are all here. 

We'd also like to thank the volunteers of the Pinawa CDC Board.  The Board is comprised of the council and a Chamber of Commerce Rep; Donna Warenko but we also have representatives from the community.  These folks are: Stu Iverson, Jane Sargent, Dorothy Wilken, Chuck Vandergraaf, and the newest addition Carey Galeschuk.    Thank you for your dedication to our goals and we wish you a safe and merry Christmas.

Have a safe and merry Christmas to you all and the best New Year possible.

Notes On Nature

Continuing On The Green Theme And Nature Observations...

Everyone can do their part for the environment and a good way to start is by getting kids (the younger the better) to help change your family's lifestyle to make it more green.  Last month I mentioned the Sunlight Eco-Action Kids Awards; this award recognizes kids who are taking action to improve the environment.  If this is the first you have heard of it go to www.sunlightecoactionkids.ca to learn how to recognize those terrific kids in your life.  As it so often happens, it is the children that make the adults around them become proactive.  Much like the litter bug program awareness has to be continually taught because at a certain age children become immune to the message and in turn become immune adults until they have their own children.

If you would like tips to make your office green you can go to www.CheckerspotMagazine.ca .  Simple ideas such as using blinds or curtains and closing them at night in the winter to reduce heating costs; conversely close them in the summer to avoid high cooling costs.  Turning off lights and computers when you leave your office is also an energy saver.

Thinking about some New Year's Resolutions?  Here are a few that you won't break and yet help you be green at the same time:

• Pack your lunch and have the kids pack theirs in reusable containers, which decreases the amount of packaging.
• Turn off the tap when you are brushing your teeth - this is a hard one.  You will save between 7.6 to 11.3 litres of water every minute that you don't run water.
• Fix leaky taps and running toilets as a significant amount of water is wasted.
• Turn off lights when you leave a room - this obviously is a hard one as I now some people that never turn off the bathroom light!
• Many people in Pinawa do this next tip and that is to walk or ride a bike to school, grocery shopping, or work.
• Try and buy locally when items are in season.
•  Take your own bags when you go shopping.
• Then of course there is the composting card - only vegetable material please, no protein or cooked vegetables or grease.
• Use rechargeable batteries in the toys and gadgets you get for Christmas.

Keeping in the Green theme I provided directions in Nancy's Notes November 2006 to make your own Christmas cards from paper that you and your family can make.  You can make cards for birthdays and special occasions.  Templates for homemade cards are available on Martha Stewart's website as well.  It is amazing the ideas that you can find on the world wide web.

Flocks of grosbeaks, Blue Jays, chickadees and the other regulars are flocking to the feeders.  I am quite delighted about the pinecone feeders I hung on a tree as it is very thrilling to see the acrobatics of the wee chickadees and nuthatches busy digging out the suet treat.  On December 4th I saw a Robin flying across the public garden on my street at 4:20 pm.  Haven't seen him since but usually I am not home until dark.  On the 10th I saw a Northern Goshawk perusing the yard looking for lunch.  A note from Peter:

Tues Dec 11, 2007 6:57 pm (PST)

Today I took what will likely be my last river-oriented birding trip of the year, covering as much of the open water as I could from Otter Falls to Pine Falls in the hope of finding an extra species or two for the winter list. No such luck, the only waterfowl were about 14 Common Goldeneyes (9 of them just below the dam at Great Falls), 7 Canada Geese (3 at Pinawa, 4 at Seven Sisters Falls), 1 Mallard at Pinawa, and 1 Common Merganser at St. Georges. The only raptor was an adult Bald Eagle at McArthur Falls, and I saw just 21 species for the outing. I haven't checked out Pointe du Bois yet, and there is still a huge amount of open water, but my optimism about the odd lingering Bufflehead or Hooded Merganser is running low. The flow is still high and the main stream very powerful. The few remaining waterfowl have a challenge to find quieter waters.

I have seen a few mature Bald Eagles dining on deer that have been struck by cars and lots of ravens.  The occasional fox makes me wish I had a camera and of course the deer are never camera shy.  They are so cute with their fuzzy little faces and bright black eyes.

Notes On Gardening

Catalogues Galore, Keep In Shape For Spring...

Happy days are here as all the catalogues have arrived from the Seed Houses.  One of the first features I read is the Seeds Of Merit for 2008 and Flowers Of Merit which are vegetable and flower winners in trials in North American  test gardens and also gardeners such as myself provide feedback on the seeds/plants.  I keep records of all the seeds that I buy especially new vegetables because if it does well I share it and then it is taste rated by other people not just my family.  The fun thing about gardening is the swapping of seeds and produce.  Helen grows an excellent small yellow cherry tomato which has a very sweet flavour.  She shares the fruit with me so I don't need to grow my own let alone know what the name is.  One day I'll get the name (could it be Grape Tomato Hyb. Solid Gold?) and stop being a mooch.

Many vegetables have many varities and are very different such as "golden" beets and radishes that are white on the outside and red on the inside.  I've also noticed there are more available dwarf plants for people that would like to container garden or don't have the space and would like to harvest their own produce.  Eggplants are now coming in a variety of colours but also are available in dwarf sizes.  Cucumbers that have that terrific summer taste are available in a number of varieties of dwarf plants.

In Pinawa we are always seeking deer proof plants and one type of plant that provides visual interest for all seasons including winter are ornamental grasses which are not browsed.  There are five new "perennial" grasses but three of them are only hardy to zone 6.  We can grow Festuva glauca and a new grass that is listed as a perennial and an annual depending on which catalogue you are looking at which is called Stipa tenuissima (Pony Tails).

Now that we don't have to focus on the actual yard it would be a great time to register yourself on the government website for Going Beyond The Zones .

We know that we can often grow zone 4 plants here but it depends on whether or not we have had a lot of snow in the winter and in what condition the plant was in before that season has decended on us.  From the data collected by volunteer observers and gardeners they will be able to improve our hardiness zone and plants' hardiness ratings.

Remember to keep fit by participating in a variety of activities provided by the Recreation District or the variety of clubs such as the Whiteshell Cross Country Ski Club (see their club articles and website in this issue).  Spring will be sooner then later and you want to be able to just glide into the season with only a blister or two.  Have fun and activities with your family this holiday season.

I am going to highlight a few dahlias grown by Chuck Vandergraaf who so kindly has provided me with his pictures.  His mother, Gerrie Hoek, has the distinction of having a dahlia named for her.  Isn't that lovely?  As a child (7-8 years) I was fascinated by these flowers and made myself very unpopular with the elderly next door neighbour. I would always sneek over and pick some for my Mum, who wasn't too happy when she found out that was where they were coming from.

Happy Growing!

May Your Christmas Be A "Green" One

And All Your Gardening Dreams Come True In

The Best New Year Of 2008

Nancy

Pictures by Chuck Vandergraaf

"Glorie van Heemstede" dahlia

"Gerrie Hoek" dahlia

"unknown" dahlia

Back to the Front Page December 2007...