Linda Cox,
Mayor,
Town of High Prairie
Following is a portion of Town of High Prairie Mayor Linda Cox’s report for the period of June 7-20:
Beautification Tulip Celebration

June 8, I attended a Tulip Celebration of the Sesquicentennial Garden. Students from High Prairie Elementary School and St. Andrew’s School, who helped plant the tulips last fall, were in attendance to see the results.
Unfortunately we seem to have had a bit of crop failure. I’m not sure if the bulbs were frozen over the winter; we may have mixed early and late blooming tulips, or what was the problem, but only about 25 per cent of the bulbs came up and they were all white. No red tulips at all!
Regardless, the student came out, and along with the seniors who also helped last fall, we had a nice hotdog roast with a few congratulatory speeches and pictures.
It is always a pleasure to work with the young people in our town as they are enthusiastic participants in any projects High Prairie organizations have.
Watershed Council holds workshop

June 8, I attended an Lesser Slave Lake Watershed Council workshop to review the Integrated Watershed Management Plan.
This plan has been over three years in development and is now reaching the final stages. The plan is a guidance document and planning tool for resource managers. It identifies issues and sets out common goals and objectives for the long-term management of land and water resources in the Lesser Slave Lake basin. It then makes recommendations on how to meet those goals and objectives. The plan aligns with provincial planning initiatives and municipal plans and policies.
For the complete draft plan, go to the council’s Website at www.lswc.ca and go to ‘Watershed Planning” to access the report.
West Fraser announcement and tour

June 9, I attended a meeting at West Fraser – High Prairie for an announcement of future mill expansion and activity in 2017.
The expansion will make this mill one of the most innovative and up-to-date mills in the West Fraser company.
There were about 25 in attendance, including Lesser Slave Lake MLA Danielle Larivee, municipal elected officials and staff from West Fraser, the town and Big Lakes County.
Mill manager Lee Barton reviewed the history of West Fraser from a small family owned sawmill to the international forestry corporation of today, an environmentally conscious company in a sustainable industry. He outlined the changes that have been made to the mill footprint since the purchase of the mill from Buchanan Lumber and the anticipated changes that will take place in the upcoming year.
The $55 million modernization employing cutting-edge technology will allow this mill to weather economic downturns that are inevitable in today’s world.
There will be mill tours later this summer for the public. I encourage residents to take the opportunity to see how our trees are turned into lumber products marketed and used throughout Canada.